


Guinevere the Terran; From Wimp to Warrior

by WhiskeyBandit



Series: Guinevere [1]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Drama, F/M, Romance, Sex, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-16 18:20:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 45,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11258349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiskeyBandit/pseuds/WhiskeyBandit
Summary: Guinevere was a normal Terran woman living a happy, normal life... until a chance encounter with a band of misfits changed everything.





	1. Complacency

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter is character development only.

Guinevere lived alone in a quiet house in a small suburban city. She worked hard, payed her bills on time, had a loving family, and even a few friends that she spent time with on the weekends. Her life was, up to this point, fairly uneventful and uncomplicated… which was just as she preferred it, thank you very much.

On this quiet, sunny Saturday morning, Guinevere was getting ready for her daily run. Having no other engagements until later that evening, she took her time making her favorite green smoothie and drank it slowly. While she skimmed through the newsfeed on her tablet, her cell phone sang to her as her sister’s picture displayed on the touch screen. 

Gwen held the phone to her ear as she wiped green foam from her top lip. “Hello, Jello!” she quipped playfully, still scrolling through the morning news.

“You will never give that up, will you?” Julienne retorted with a disgruntled tone.

Gwen sighed, “Maybe someday, but today is not that day. What’s up?” She placed her dishes in the sink and wiped down the counter as she tried to keep the thin phone perched on her shoulder.

“I’m just calling to make sure you’re still able to come to Dylan’s birthday party tonight.”

She walked into the bathroom and set the phone down on the counter, hitting the speaker button. “Of course. The bar on 34th street, right? At 8pm?” She meticulously brushed her long, wavy black hair into a tight, high ponytail before checking her teeth for stray leaf fragments.

“Yes. Thank you, Gwen. He’ll be glad to know you’re coming. He still thinks everyone in the family hates him.”

“That’s absurd. You guys have been married for years.” She moved to the bedroom, setting her phone on the bed as she tightened up the laces on her running sneakers. “We’re not _that_ stubborn. Besides, most of Dad’s jabs are just teasing anyway.”

“I know that, and you know that, but try telling _Dylan_ that.” Julie let out an exasperated sigh. “Anyway, I’ll let you go. See you tonight!”

“See you!” Gwen smiled as she disconnected the call.

She placed her phone in the arm band she was already wearing and attached her headphones. Leaving the house, she locked her door and slipped her ID and house key into the small hip pocket of her running pants and zipped it shut. She plugged the earbuds into her ears and then briefly stretched on the porch before running down the steps and off across the street headed for her favorite park. What Guinevere was unaware of, was that this would be her last run through that park, and her life would never be the same again.


	2. Forget Everything You Thought You Knew

With the beat of the music pumping through her ears, Gwen’s feet were bouncing right along, hitting the pavement of the trail with each boom, causing her long ponytail to sway side to side. She preferred fast paced, bass filled songs to that of slow ballads and long guitar solos. If it kept her moving, she was happy. The sun shining through the shadows of the passing trees flickered over her face like strobe lights. The cool air wisped over her bare arms and neck leaving goosebumps on her damp skin.

This was her element. This was where she could think. Gwen was a saleswoman for a large security software company. She had a presentation coming up that next week for a new potential client, and even though she already had her sales pitch laid out, she wanted to make sure everything was perfect. What possible questions might they come back with? What vulnerabilities did the clients have that she could use to her advantage? What phrases were best to stay away from?

She smiled and waved at the young army veteran who brought his dog to the park every Saturday morning. He waved back before chucking a Frisbee into the air as his floppy eared boxer eagerly chased after it.

None of it would matter though, until she met the clients face to face. Gwen was good at reading people and playing off of their emotions. If they were becoming frustrated, she could calm them. If they were acting disinterested, she could pump them up. She was the best at what she did. Gwen was feeling especially confident. The song changed and the beat sped up. She grinned as she picked up her pace along the trail, rounding a corner towards a hill behind the park.

 

_Work it harder_

_Make it better_

_Do it faster_

_Makes us stronger_

_More than ever_

_Hour after hour_

_Work is never over_

 

Gwen took the thick tree lined path towards the clearing up the hill. It was her favorite place to be. The clearing was secluded, even though it was large and wide open, hardly anyone ever came back this far. There was no vehicle access and took about 30 minutes on foot to reach, 10 if you ran. Gwen’s feet bounced off of the steps, crudely made of wood logs and packed dirt. She was almost there, anticipating the feeling of the warm sun on her face. She could take a well-deserved break and lounge in the sunshine before heading back home.

Gwen was not, however, alone. As she climbed the last of the steps and bounded up to the plateau, her eyes widened and she gasped, almost falling backwards. She was not met with the view of a sun filled clearing, but rather a very large blue and yellow metal contraption. It looked somewhat like a combination of a fighter jet and a… space ship? It was almost bird like, with a long curved front end, like a beak, and multiple wings that jutted out to the sides and back of the aircraft. Curiosity and amazement pulled her feet cautiously forward into the field. She slowly pulled her headphones out and draped them across her neck.

Gwen was so busy gawking at the ship that she did not, right away, notice the 3 people standing in the field halfway between her and the ship. Her brain first noticed that there were three people. And then the fact that they were all different colors hit her. The large, bare chested man on the left was… purple? No, that wasn’t right. More of a blue, with ornate red tattoos covering the length of his body, including his face. Gwen decided, in her stunned state that his skin was rather beautiful.

Second, she noticed the man standing in the middle. He was a rather, for lack of a better term, normal looking Caucasian young man with unruly red hair and an almost matching red jacket.

The third person looked like a woman, with long wavy hair dark in color, almost a purple that turned reddish pink towards the bottom. A black sleeveless leather-type top and pants over her green tinted skin.

All three turned to look at her, the man and woman on each end looking curiously, and the man in the middle looking rather guilty, as if he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

The trio walked cautiously over to the mouth-gaped Gwen, whose wide eyes were gazing back and forth between the people and the enormous ship behind them. The red head gulped and smiled wildly, holding his hand out to Gwen.

“Hi!” His voice was both nervous and excited.

Gwen guardedly took his hand and shook it.

“Um… I’m Peter, and these are my friends, Drax…” He gestured to the man to his right and then to the woman to his left “…and Gamora.” Intentionally skipping over their obvious physical differences, he took a deep breath and placed his hands on his hips. “So… uh… so what’s your name, then?”

Her eyes darted between them and the shiny blue and yellow bird behind them. “Um… Gwen… Guinevere. Please tell me you guys are shooting a movie here.” She pleaded, unconvinced even if they agreed to the absurd scenario.

Gamora tilted her head and looked curiously at Peter, “What is a… movie?”

Drax addressed Gwen directly and sincerely, “We have shot no one yet, today.” Hoping his words would ease her concern.

Gwen’s wide eyes focused on Drax, “Excuse me?”

Peter laughed nervously, placing his hand in front of Drax, attempting to push him back behind himself. “Ha ha! Yeah, that’s… really funny, Drax… really funny. Actually, what we’re really doing here is… um…” Peter was attempting to come up with a convincing story to explain the giant ship behind them. He could easily play off Drax and Gamora’s looks as simple make up, but the ship was another thing.

Gamora sighed and rolled her eyes, “Peter wished to visit his home, so we stopped here on Terra for the day.” She was tiring of Peter’s stumbling and didn’t feel the need to hide their actions from one little Terran.

“Terra?” Gwen repeated, confused.

Gamora nodded, “You people call it Earth.”

Gwen looked to Peter for verification.

Peter smiled sheepishly, “Surprise! We’re… space people!”

Gwen was having a hard time processing what she was seeing and hearing, but with her brain unable to come up with a more convincing theory, she decided to humor them. “Space people?” her tone was unconvincing.

Peter rocked back and forth on his heels anxiously and clapped his hands together, “Yyyup!” He said, his lips popped on the letter p.

Gwen looked to Gamora and then to Drax, “So, then I’m guessing that makes you two aliens?” still skeptical.

Drax crossed his arms in front of his chest defensively “From where I stand, _you_ are the alien.”

Gwen raised her eyes and tilted her head thoughtfully “Touché.”

Drax nodded confidently, pleased with her response.

Gwen decided to delve deeper into this absurdity, convinced she would wake up any second now. “So, how can you be from space if you’re from…” what word did they use?... “Terra?”

“Well, I was sort of… kidnapped, about 30 years ago, after my mom died. It’s a long story. I actually haven’t been back until now.” He looked around the empty field, at the trees lining the clearing and then up at the sky. “I gotta say, it doesn’t look much different.”

Gwen laughed and put her hands on her hips, “You haven’t seen much of it yet then, have you?”

“Not really. We just got here about an hour ago. We were debating on who all would actually go into town. These two yahoos want to come with, but I keep tellin’ ‘em the locals would probably freak out.”

“Actually, you could probably just tell people that they’re cosplayers.”

“What is a cosplayer?” Gamora asked.

“Oh, well…” Gwen was about to explain when she was interrupted by a loud voice coming from the ship.

“Hate to break up this lovely little reunion, but we got company headed this way!”

The three whipped their heads around. Gwen glanced towards the ship and saw a small, furry creature standing… on only two legs… on the ramp heading into the ship, holding what looked like a glass tablet in it’s han… paws? It… or maybe he… was rapidly pushing buttons on the display. Gwen was trying very hard to pretend she wasn’t seeing what she was seeing.

“There are about 5 small aircraft flying rather quickly in this direction… and they’re _armed_.” Furry guy seemed to tense on that last word.

“Apache helicopters.” Gwen offered. “There’s a military base not far from here. They probably saw you land.” Was she actually starting to believe this nonsense?

Peter turned back towards Gwen “So Gwen, what exactly might happen if they found us here?”

“The clock is ticking, people! If we don’t get out of here quick, it’s going to get fun!” Furry guy smirked.

“It probably wouldn’t be pretty.” Gwen warned.

“Let’s get out of here, Peter.” Gamora urged.

“Thirty seconds to party time!” The furry guy ran back up into the ship.

Drax and Gamora jogged back to the ship.

“You coming with us?” Peter asked, walking backwards towards his friends.

“What?!” Gwen’s stomach jerked violently

Peter smiled looking at his watch. “Well, the way I see it, if the government finds you standing here after we’ve left, they’re going to have a _lot_ of questions for you. And if they haven’t changed much since the 80’s…” His voice trailed off as he shrugged his shoulders.

Gwen thought about that. Would they really think she was a part of all this? Of course they would. But how far would they take it? She could hear the thumping vibration of the helicopter blades cutting through the air, getting louder as they got closer.

In a panic, Gwen ran towards the ship. Peter smiled and ran after her.


	3. You're Not In Kansas Anymore

Gwen’s eyes followed Peter running behind the ship and then up the ramp. She could just make out the helicopters coming up over the horizon as she double backed, hopping up the ramp after him. The noise was deafening. She turned to look up into the ship and saw first the furry creature, which turned out to be a large, human-like raccoon wearing a jumper.

“Come on, come on! We ain’t got all day!” the raccoon ushered.

Peter and Gamora ran through the ship to the cockpit and jumped into a pair of seats, hurriedly strapping in and pushing buttons on the console.

Before Gwen even had a chance to look around, she was startled by another blue… person… that had rushed up from inside the ship. “Damnit Quill! I _told_ you this was a bad id…” He stopped dead as soon as he saw Gwen. A mix of confusion and anger fell over his face, “… What the hell is this?!” He demanded, gesturing to Gwen. The blue on his skin paled any blue on Drax’s and she quickly decided Drax must be more of a gray. Because this man’s skin was a brilliant blue. His teeth were sharp and slightly crooked and he had what seemed to be an elaborate metal fin attached to the top of his head. He wore a long, elaborate, dark red jacket, with a matching vest and pants. Gwen gulped hard as she felt a knot hit her stomach. This man intimidated her, far more than Drax.

Just then a loud booming voice echoed through the ship and through the surrounding field. “YOU HAVE ENTERED UNITED STATES AIRSPACE WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION. EXIT THE AIRCRAFT WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR, OR WE WILL BE FORCED TO FIRE. I REPEAT. EXIT THE AIRCRAFT IMMEDIATELY OR WE WILL BE FORCED TO FIRE.”

There was a loud whine, a rumble beneath the ship and loud rush of air as it came to life. Gwen’s heart began to race as the panic rose in her chest.

“Awe hell… here’s my authorization you giant hairless monkeys!” The raccoon grabbed what looked like a large gun and headed towards the doorway, fully intending on shooting at the helicopters.

“Wait! Don’t!” Gwen jumped in front of him without thinking, arms out defensively “They’re just doing their job!”

“Are you kidding me right now?! You’re defending these dirt bags?!” The raccoon was ready to shoot through her if she didn’t move. The blue man watched carefully, waiting to see if he was going to shoot her or not.

Gwen thought for a second, “Do you have some sort of shield on this thing?”

“Yeah, a force field. But it ain’t as much fun!” The raccoon smirked.

Gwen looked the raccoon square in the eyes “Please… Most of them have families.” he was unfazed. She decided to try to plead to his logical side “Look, those helicopters are too slow to follow us anyway. They can’t even leave the atmosphere.”

“They can’t?” The raccoon wavered.

“No! They can’t!” Gwen hoped she was able to talk some sense into him.

“What are we doin’ here, Rocket?” The blue man demanded. “Flyin’ or fightin’?”

The raccoon thought for another moment. The booming voice repeated its previous message, “YOU HAVE ENTERED UNITED STATES AIRSPACE WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION…”

“Everybody hang onto something!” Peter yelled back from the cockpit.

Rocket dropped the gun and walked over to the side of the ship, punching in some buttons. The ramp pulled up and the bay doors dropped down with a loud thud. The ship started to shake and sway as it left the ground.

“Awe hell…” The blue man grabbed Gwen’s upper arm and led her to a seat, roughly tossing her into it and strapping her in with a five-point harness.

Just then, the ship was bombarded with an incredibly loud noise. Almost as if they were inside a snare drum during a drum roll. The whole ship vibrated violently and she realized they must have started firing. Gwen pressed her hands hard to her ears trying to block out the noise but it was no use. Her ears began to ring. Her head pounded. She saw Peter yell something, but she could hear nothing. Before she could think anything else, g-forces threw her back into her seat and they were quickly headed up and out of the clearing.

The loud banging was gone, replaced by rushing air and a still humming ring in her ears that was, thankfully, quickly fading.

Peter yelled out an excited holler and then laughed. Rocket laughed along with him, but neither Gamora nor the blue man were amused. Gamora rolled her eyes and shook her head at Peter. The blue man only looked at Gwen with confusion and maybe a bit of disgust.

The ship felt like it was slowing down, and the sound of rushing air faded off into the distance. Gwen thought maybe they were stopping, until she realized they had just left atmosphere. Panic again filled her. What in the hell made her jump onto this ship? What was she going to do now? What about her brother-in-law’s party, and her presentation next week? This was not in the plan, this was not in the plan, this was _not_ in the plan! Her breathing sped up and her head began to spin.

The blue man stared at her curiously, tilting his head, “What’s wrong with _you_?”

A loud bang came from the ship behind Gwen. She turned her head to see a tree, with arms, legs and a face, climbing out from a hatch underneath the cabin. Gwen screamed loudly, the tree screamed back… and then everything faded to black.

     _______________________________________________________________________________

 

Gwen awoke to the sound of a familiar old song. Lying down on an unfamiliar leather couch, confusion clouded her head. Her eyes opened sluggishly and she recognized Gamora’s purple and pink hair. She sat up, grabbing her pounding head. “Owww” She moaned.

“Here, this should help” Gamora held out a glass of water.

“Thank you.” Gwen took it gratefully and began to sip the cold liquid. She reached over and slipped her phone out of the arm band. She turned the screen on. No bars… of course.

“What’s that?” Gamora asked.

“My cell phone.” She tried to make a call, knowing it was a futile effort. “I have to call my sister.”

Rocket chuckled “We don’t exactly run on the same signals as Terra. They don’t even know we exist out here. Well… they _didn’t_ anyway.” He hopped up on the couch next to her, “Can I take a look?”

She handed him the phone, which he began fiddling with, going through the menus and finding the settings “Is there _any_ way to connect to them? Anyway at all? I can’t even imagine what my family will go through when I’m reported missing.”

Peter walked into the small room. “If anyone can figure it out, it’s Rocket. He’s our resident genius. He can turn a radio into a bomb, or a bomb into a radio.” He folded his arms and leaned against the wall looking down at the contraption. “What kind of phone is that?”

“It’s a smart phone. It’s what those old brick cellular phones have evolved into.”

Peter nodded his head, mildly impressed.

“I think I can do something with this. I might need to take it apart, that okay?” Rocket asked.

“Whatever you gotta do.” Gwen sighed.

Rocket walked off with the phone in hand. Gamora walked out with him.

“Peter, what the hell were you thinkin’, bringin’ this girl on our ship?” The blue man walked up behind Peter, still angry. “You know we don’t have room for anoth…”

Peter turned to him “It’s _my_ ship,” he pointed to his own chest “and I had to. They would have arrested her and locked her up in some bunker underneath Area 51 for the next 10 years.”

“What’s Area 51?” he asked.

“It’s where they investigate all extra-terrestrial phenomena that occurs in the US.” Gwen took another sip of water. “Some say it’s a hoax, some say it’s real. I honestly don’t wanna find out.”

“Gwen, this here’s Yondu. Yondu, this is Gwen, or Guinevere.” Peter pointed to the angry man.

Yondu eyed Gwen suspiciously, but nodded.

Peter continued, “Yondu is the one who picked me up after my mom died. He raised me ever since.”

“How old were you?” Gwen asked, taking another sip of water.

“I was eight.” Peter looked down at the floor. “She died of cancer.”

“I’m so sorry.” Gwen wanted to give him a hug, but figured it would be out of line, so she stayed planted on the couch. She was doing the math in her head. He was eight years old about 30 years ago, so that made him… same age as herself. Gwen was surprised. He seemed so much younger than her. But then again, she thought, antigravity probably does wonders for wrinkles.

“It’s okay. I’ve had a pretty cool life.” He gave her a genuine smile.

“Why did Yondu take you?”

To that question, Yondu cleared his throat in irritation and walked out of the room. It was obvious that he did not want to address the subject. She felt maybe she hit a nerve that should have been left alone.

“Uh,” Peter watched Yondu’s back, “It’s kind of a long story. He was supposed to take me to my dad, who was not a Terran, but my dad turned out to be a giant dick, so Yondu kept me for himself. I learned how to be a Ravager like him.”

“What’s a Ravager?”

“Just like it says, they ravage. Kinda like space pirates. But then I went off on my own and now I have this beauty.” Peter gestured to the ship as he pat the wall behind him.

“Why is Yondu here if he has his own ship?” Gwen realized she was asking a lot of fairly personal questions. She was waiting for Peter to tell her to mind her own business, but he didn’t.

“I asked him for help on a few jobs I was working on. We’ll be meeting up with his ship in a few more weeks.”

Just then, the tree walked into the room. Gwen sat upright and froze. She had forgotten seeing him right before she passed out.

Peter smiled “Hey, buddy! High five!” The tree smiled and slapped Peter’s outstretched hand. “Gwen, this is Groot. He might be a bit intimidating, but he’s as harmless as a teddy bear.”

Gwen gave Groot a shaky smile, “Hi.” She breathed.

Groot smiled back and waved “I am Groot.”

“Oh yeah, all’s he can say is ‘I am Groot.’ If you wanna know what he’s saying, just ask me or Rocket.”

“Well, what did he say just now?”

“Oh, that time he actually said ‘I am Groot’.” Peter smiled and Gwen laughed, which started Peter laughing, and then Groot joined in.

Rocket walked back in the room “Okay, I think I got it working, but your phone is currently hooked up to the com system on the ship. You’ll have to come out here to make that call.”

“Oh my gosh, thank you!” Gwen jumped up a little too quickly, losing her balance as the room spun.

Peter grabbed her waist to steady her “You okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Here, I’ll walk you out. Just hang on to me.” Gwen held tight to Peter’s arm as he lead her into the main quarters.

Yondu stared curiously as the pair walked out. Gamora rushed over to help Gwen, taking her opposite side. She let go of Peter and let Gamora lead her to the com system.

“Thank you,” she sighed, looking down at her phone, which seemed to be attached via the charging port, though the loose wires looked precariously place. “So, how do I do this, exactly?” She asked Rocket.

“Same as you would on Terra.”

Gwen decided to facetime her sister, so she could see her one last time. The call came through, and even though the picture was a bit pixelated, she could hear her sister’s voice perfectly.

“Hey Gwennie. What’s up? I think your phone is messed up, you’re all blocky.” Her blonde haired sister bobbed her head side to side, trying unsuccessfully to get a better picture.

Gwen smiled widely “Hey Jules!” her voice started to shake “Hey… um… I gotta tell you something. I won’t be able to make it to Dylan’s party tonight.”

Julienne grew concerned “Everything okay? What’s going on?”

“Oh no! Everything’s fine! Kind of, sort of…” she trailed off, trying to think of the right way to say she had left the planet.

“Guinevere, what is it?” Jules was growing impatient.

“Well for starters,” Gwen smiled again “I just want you to know that I haven’t been kidnapped. See,” She held her hands up to show that they were restraint free, “And there’s no gun to my head” She moved the phone all around her head.

“Guinevere Grace, what _are_ you going on about??” Jules was sure she had lost her mind.

Yondu was sitting quietly on the other side of the room, one eyebrow raised; baffled and slightly entertained at the exchange that was taking place in front of him.

“Okay, okay. I kind of hopped on a space ship and probably won’t be back for… a while.”

“WHAT?!” Julienne barked, “Have you gone insane? You’re not making any sense!”

“The police will tell you that I’m missing, but trust that I’m not. I’m okay. I did this of my own free will and everything is going to be okay.” The picture started to pixelate even more. “Rocket? What’s going on? I’m losing the picture here.”

“Wh… ocket? Wha… talk… bout?”

Rocket hopped up on the table next to Gwen and looked in at the screen. “We’re getting too far away.  
We’re losing the signal.”

Julienne saw, and heard, the humanoid raccoon… and then screamed violently.

“No! Jules it’s okay. Rocket is a friend. He hooked up my phone so I could call you!”

“Gwennie!” static “Love you!” more static.

“I love you too, sis! Tell mom and dad I…” the screen went blank. Gwen sighed “… love them.” She put the phone back down next to the com system.

“Sorry, kiddo. That’s the best I could do.” Rocket shrugged.

“No, no! You did great!” She absentmindedly put her hand on Rocket’s shoulder. He tensed, but didn’t push her hand away. Gwen noticed that his fur was softer than she had thought it would be. “I was able to say goodbye because of you. Thank you... really.” She put her hand down.

Rocket chuckled nervously “Yeah, sure, no problem.”

Gwen walked back into the side room. She laid back down on the couch, looking up at the ceiling and rested her arm on her forehead.

Yondu sauntered into the room after her, crossed his arms and legs and leaned against the wall. He gave her a long curious look and asked “So… what ya gonna do now?”

Gwen breathed a heavy sigh, “I have no fucking clue.”


	4. Rest, Relaxation and Education

“So tell me,” Peter pulled two beers out of the fridge and popped them both open. He gave one to Gwen and sat down at the table across from her, “what have I missed these last 30 years?” He took a long pull from the bottle. He had tried to give her a few days to recoup from their recent ordeal, and to adjust to her new surroundings, but Peter was too excited to have another Terran on board and had a million questions for her.

Gwen took a sip from her bottle which caused her face to pucker. She raised her eyebrows and thought for a moment, “Wow… 30 years. A lot has happened in 30 years. There was the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, a bunch of wars…”

“World War III?” Peter asked curiously.

“No, at least not yet, but I wouldn’t doubt if it was coming.”

“Really?” He tipped back his beer again.

“Oh yeah. There was a terrorist attack on US soil about 16 years go. It was bad.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, you know you probably got out just in time.” Gwen half joked and took another sip.

“What else happened?”

“Hmm… early 90’s… Oh, Princess Diana was killed in a car accident. Michael Jackson died.”

Peter jerked backwards “Not the King of Pop!”

Gwen nodded solemnly “Yup. I know, we were all devastated.”

“Well,” Peter thought solemnly, “it couldn’t have been all bad, right?”

“Oh no! Not at all. Let’s see… home computers became a staple, like home phones.” Gwen chuckled “Which is funny, because now that everyone has smart phones, nobody has home phones anymore. Then there was the internet that connected everybody’s computers, which paved the way for social media.”

“What’s social media?”

Peter listened intently as Gwen went on and on about the conveniences of modern life on Terra, about the evolution of video games, music, Netflix, flat screen tv’s, solar power, and a worldwide craze created by some kid named Harry Potter. They continued to drink throughout their conversation, and Peter got up and got each of them another beer.

Neither Gwen nor Peter paid much attention to Yondu, who was sitting at the other end of the table cleaning his weapons. Yondu was also listening, but paying more attention to how well the two Terrans got along. They were smiling, laughing, and joking more than he had ever seen Peter do before. The girl even put her hand on his arm a time or two as she leaned in to tell a joke that only Peter understood. Who was this girl, Yondu wondered. How could they seem so close in such a short amount of time? It left a sour taste in his mouth.

“Wait, so you’re tellin’ me, that that smart phone plays music, too?” Peter became excited at the possibility of some new tunes to listen to.

“Oh yeah! Want to check it out?” Gwen asked as she stood up to walk over to the phone, which was still hooked up to the com system.

“Hell yeah! Let’s blast this bad boy!”

Gwen showed Peter how to navigate the apps and find the music. “So, what do you want to listen to?”

“What do you mean?” He started to scroll through the names of songs.

“Well, do you want to listen to rock, pop, indie, I think I even have some rap in here somewhere.”

“Holy cow! You have _that_ much music on here?” Peter’s face scrunched “What the hell is indie?”

Gwen giggled. “Well, people either love it or hate it. Let’s just pick some random songs and see what you think?”

Gwen picked a fast tempo pop song and hit play. The music began playing through the speakers in the ship. Startled at first, she looked around and then back at Peter.

His head started bouncing with the beat and a smile grew on his face. “Oh yeah… I think I like this one.”

Gwen laughed and started to bob her head, singing along with the song.

About that time the rest of the crew walked in to see what was going on. Gamora rolled her eyes at Peter, teasingly, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. Rocket just sat back and watched along with Gamora. Drax walked in, and then with a scoff, turned around and walked quickly out. As soon as Drax was out of the room, Groot started to bounce along with Peter and Gwen.

Peter grabbed Gwen’s hands and they danced around the room. Swinging their arms up over their heads, Peter spun Gwen around making her laugh out loud.

 

_Because I’m happyyyyyyyyyy_

_Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof_

_Because I’m happyyyyyyyyy_

_Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth_

_Because I’m happyyyyyyyyy_

_Clap along if you know what happiness is to you_

_Because I’m happyyyyyyyyy_

_Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do_

 

Groot danced alongside them, clapping his hands to the beat. Even Gamora began tapping her foot. At that moment, Yondu hopped up out of his seat and stormed off down the hall.

Gwen watched the strange man huff as he turned the corner. Feeling self-conscious, she stopped dancing with Peter and rather watched as he took Gamora’s reluctant hands and spun her around. Gwen continued to smile and joke with the group, but her mind was in two different places.

To say that Gwen paid no attention to Yondu as he sat at the table was false. She was very much aware of his presence, but tried to pay no mind to the lump in her stomach. As the beer filled it, the lump got lighter, until she was so engrossed in her conversation with Peter that she all but forgot he was there. Now, she was hyperaware that he saw everything. She felt drunk. How could she have gotten drunk off of two beers? But then again, this was not ordinary Terran beer. And now she was embarrassed.

Eventually Gwen walked off to find her new room, the one that Peter had shown her earlier. The music continued to follow her through the hall.

 

_Nah, nah, honey I’m good,_

_I could have another but I probably should not._

_I’ve got somebody at home,_

_and if I stay I might not leave alone._

_Nah, honey I’m good,_

_I could have another but I probably should not._

_I’ve gotta bid you adieu and to another I will stay true._

Gwen cursed the walls that wouldn’t keep still. She bumped hard into one wall and waited there to steady herself. The wall opened up in front of her. She wondered briefly if this was an optical illusion caused by a side effect of the beer, until she saw Yondu’s disgruntled face pop out.

“Of course, sliding doors, just like Star Trek. Makes perfect sense.” Gwen hiccuped.

Yondu’s irritation turned to confusion. “You alright, girl?”

Gwen pridefully attempted to straighten up, but failed miserably. “I’m fine.” Hiccup “I’m drunk, but I’m fine.” She fell back against the wall.

Yondu folded his arms and chuckled, “Can’t handle that Xandarian stuff, huh?”

“Xandawhatnow?” Gwen slowly started to slide down the wall.

Yondu quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and helped steady her “Whoa, whoa, there ya go.” Gwen grabbed his jacket in return which made Yondu a bit unnerved. Females didn’t often touch him on purpose, unless they were hitting him or he was paying them for it.

Gwen leaned in too close for Yondu’s comfort. She breathed in heavy and smiled stupidly. “Hmmm… you smell _good._ ” And he did. It was some weird mix of machine oil and cologne, and she liked it.

“Uh… thanks. How bout we get you to your room so you can lie down?”

Gwen looked around “I don’t know where my room is.” Hiccup.

“Don’t worry, I do.”

“Okie dokie!” Hiccup

Yondu lead her down the hall “Okie what?”

Gwen giggled “You’re funny! You know you scared me when I first met you, but you’re not so scary now.” 

Yondu nodded “Yeah, just wait until that alcohol wears off.”

 

_I knew you were trouble when you walked in_

_So shame on me now_

 

Yondu laid Gwen down in her bed while she hummed along with the song playing out in the hall.

“Thanks Yondu.” She already had her eyes closed.

He smirked and shook his head as he shut her door.


	5. I Can Be Bad

BANG, BANG, BANG!!

Gwen jolted upright to a pounding on her door. It did not mix well with the pounding in her head from the Xandarian beer hangover. “Owwww” she moaned as she grabbed her head in pain.

“Gwen? You awake?” Peter’s voice was muffled through the door.

“I am now!” She answered back. “What do you want?” She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

Peter opened the door. “Hey! So, the plan was to show you the ropes today, but we just got a job on a nearby planet.” He walked in and sat down on the end of her bed. “What would you think of me leaving you with Yondu and he can teach you to use some of the weapons? Maybe even some combat skills?”

Gwen thought about that for a moment. Yondu terrified her. And then she remembered what happened the night before… or rather before she fell asleep (she still didn’t get how the passage of time worked on a space ship). “Ooooh noooo!” She whined, placing her face in her hands.

“What? What’s wrong? Did he do something?” Peter became defensive.

“No, no, nothing like that.” Gwen decided that she’d better girl up and deal with this Yondu business now or else she’d wind up tip toeing around him forever. She sighed, “It’s fine. I wouldn’t mind learning how to be a bad ass, anyway.” She smiled.

“Great! Get dressed and I’ll let you know when we’re getting ready to land.” He stood up to walk out but Gwen stopped him.

“Peter?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have anything for this nasty hangover?”

Peter laughed, “Yeah, go talk to Drax, he’ll make you up something for it.”

“Thanks!”

Gwen got up and pulled out some of the clothes Gamora had let her borrow. She didn’t fill out the top as well, and the pants were a little long for her, but they did the job until they could stop and get something more suitable. She could only wear her tank and running pants for so long.

She had gone to see Drax and choked down the concoction he made for her. Surprisingly, she felt better almost instantly. He also warned her about falling in with the wrong crowd, mentioning something about “those that dance, and those that don’t” and how Peter was “one of those”. She didn’t really understand him, so she just nodded and smiled. She thanked him for the drink, and then slowly backed out of the room.

After grabbing a bite to eat, she headed off to the main quarters where everyone was gathered. Peter informed Gwen that they were about to land. She and Yondu were to stay with the ship while the rest of them went to go see a man about a stolen ring. A family heirloom that had been taken by his rival.

Yondu was not excited about being left behind with Gwen. He wanted to be in on the action, but being a Centaurian, and a Ravager, he was often not welcome on higher class planets like this one. He didn’t understand this Terran. He didn’t understand why she frustrated him so much. He didn’t like the feeling he got in the pit of his stomach when she walked into a room, and he didn’t like seeing her talk to Peter. That last one confused him.

Gwen watched, unnervingly, as Yondu eyed her while picking at his fingernails with a knife. She gulped hard, trying not to make too much noise. She just had to get through today.

The ship landed and Peter, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot took off towards the nearby town. Gwen was sitting in the common room reading an e-book about Xandar when Yondu walked in.

“You ready to hop out and go shoot stuff?” he said in a somewhat irritated manner.

“I thought Peter said we had to stay on the ship?”

“No, he said we had to stay _with_ the ship. Didn’t say nuthin’ about stayin’ _on_ it. You comin’ er what?”

Gwen dropped the book and jumped up. She was excited so see her first foreign planet.

 

“Holy shit!” Gwen shouted as they walked off the ramp. The sky was a bright shade of pink. The trees were green, but the plants were covered in yellow, blue and purple flowers. Similar to Earth, but somehow more vibrant. She was amazed at its beauty.

Yondu watched her face and laughed under his breath. “What’s the matter? You act like you never seen another planet before.” He teased.

“Look here folks! He’s got jokes!” She teased back, and they both chuckled. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.  

Yondu had already set up a metal folding table with an assortment of projectile weapons laid out. A few dozen feet away he had set up targets of old food cans, boxes, and beer bottles.

“Wow,” she murmured, grazing her hand over the smooth metal “these are nice.”

Yondu looked somewhat surprised, “You like guns?” he asked, picking up a blaster, making sure it was ready to be fired.

“My dad likes guns. I was around them a lot. Didn’t do much shooting but I learned quickly how to respect them.”

Impressed, Yondu nodded. “Alright, so this is a basic Blaster. It shoots electrical pulses, looks like a ball of light. This is the charge switch, push it forward and then let it swing back. This is the safety, switch it in the back position to fire. When the light turns red, it’s armed, the safety is off, and you’re ready to go. Try shooting one of the boxes first.”

Gwen nodded. Yondu handed her the gun and she took her position. She tried to remember her footing and how to hold the gun properly downrange.

Yondu snickered at her, “Girlie, this ain’t no military exercise. Just shoot the damn thing.”

Gwen eyeballed Yondu and huffed at him. She looked back at the target, raised the gun, took a breath and fired. A blue bolt of light shot out of the barrel. She was off by about a foot to the right. Gwen grumbled in frustration.

“That’s alright, you’ll get it. Try again.” Yondu encouraged.

Gwen held the gun up again, this time adjusting to the left. She fired again, hitting the box in a bright explosion of splintered wood. “Yes!” she cheered. She didn’t hit square in the middle, but it was close enough that she was happy.

“There ya go. Keep shootin’ until you’re comfortable with it, then move to the cans.” Yondu picked up another gun, a larger one, and began shooting at some of the bottles.

Gwen tried to focus on what she was doing, but she was amazed at Yondu’s speed and marksmanship. “Wow… you’re… _really_ good.” She complimented. That damn lump in her stomach was back.

He shot again “I’ve had a lot of practice.” This girl was confounding. She frustrated him earlier, but now he was enjoying her company. He couldn’t reconcile the two. Which just annoyed him even more. He stopped to recharge his weapon. His face contorted and the question bouncing around in his head just blurted out. “How’s come you haven’t bedded Peter yet?”

Gwen shot and missed entirely, blasting a large branch off of a tree that came crashing down, destroying their targets. “What?!” Her face turned a bright red.

Yondu’s brow furrowed, “You like Peter, I seen it. You get along, you gots tons in common. How’s come you haven’t bedded him yet?”

Gwen scoffed nervously, still pink, “Um… cause I don’t like him like _that_.”

Yondu was still confused, “What do you mean?”

Gwen tried to explain, “Peter’s nice, and handsome, but… he’s more like a brother to me. We just don’t have chemistry, I guess. Plus isn’t he with Gamora?”

Yondu laughed, “Ain’t nuthin’ got to do with nuthin’, girlie. They ain’t declared anything yet. You get to him first, she’s out of luck.”

“Well, I wouldn’t do that to her anyway. I know she loves him. I wouldn’t get in the way of that.”

“How you know she loves him?” Yondu wondered.

“I can tell.” Gwen smiled thoughtfully, “The way she looks at him, the way she smiles, the way she worries over him. She may not have admitted it to herself yet, but she can’t deny it.”

Yondu walked over to the targets. He moved the branch out of the way and set up fresh bottles. Something she said got him to thinkin’, but he wasn’t sure about what. He went back to teaching her about the different weapons, even showing her his arrow and explaining his fin. He whistled and his fin lit up. The arrow shot around the field, hitting targets and tree branches. Gwen laughed and cheered playfully. Yondu felt a sense of pride welling up in his chest. He didn’t understand what this girl was doing to him, but he was starting to like it.


	6. Mr. Almost

Later that afternoon Gwen and Yondu ate lunch together. Yondu showed Gwen how to make a tasty Ravager sandwich, which turned out to be just throwing pretty much all the leftovers in the fridge onto two pieces of bread. But she couldn’t deny it was delicious. She compared it to a Thanksgiving sandwich, and then she had to explain to him what Thanksgiving was. Yondu decided he didn’t much care for the concept, and after thinking about it, she had to agree.

“So what’s life like for a Centaurian?” She asked, biting into her sandwich.

Yondu’s face turned grim, “I wouldn’t know. I was sold as a slave when I was just a kid.”

Gwen choked on her sandwich and painfully swallowed it down, “I’m so sorry.” She spoke solemnly as she placed her hand on the bare skin peeking out from his jacket on his wrist.

Yondu wanted to pull away, but didn’t. Instead, he froze and tensed, thinking if he did she would be rightly offended. The feel of her skin on his sent a shock down his spine that he didn’t understand.

Gwen noticed the look on his face and quickly pulled her hand away, “I’m sorry.”

Yondu looked up at Gwen again, “S’okay.” He didn’t know if that second apology was for his story, or for her hand. “Can’t do nuthin’ about it now.” He shrugged.

They finished their lunch in silence. Gwen went back to her room to read some more and Yondu stayed and played with her cell phone which had been left on the counter from the night before. He came across her pictures. There wasn’t much, some pictures of her with a yellow haired girl, some with an older lady and man… must be her parents, and some pictures of trees and fountains and parks. There was even one picture of a man in a park with a furry brown animal.

It was about this time that Peter and the gang returned. They had all come in laughing and hollering. That must have meant they got paid. As the group passed through the kitchen, Yondu stopped Peter.

“Where’s my cut?” Yondu yelled to Peter.

Peter walked over to Yondu, while the others walked off into the common room to exchange stories. “What cut? You didn’t come with!”

“No, I just stayed behind and babysat your newbie! Where’s my cut?” Yondu demanded again.

Peter rolled his eyes and scoffed. He dug into his pockets and handed him a few bills. “Here, happy now?”

Yondu counted with a smile, “Yup.”

Peter grabbed a beer out of the fridge and was about to walk out when Yondu stopped him.

“Hey Peter,” Yondu gestured for him to sit down with him.

“What’s up” Peter sat down across from him and took a pull on his beer.

“What’s _chemistry_?” Yondu asked curiously.

Peter was just as confused, “What do you mean?”

“Well, I asked Gwen why she ain’t bedded you yet…”

“Oh god, Yondu, come on! That’s not something you just ask a girl!”

Yondu ignored his scolding, “She said you two don’t have _chemistry_. What’s that mean?”

Peter finally got it “Oooh, I see. Chemistry is that feeling you get with another person when you’re attracted to them.”

Yondu looked at him sideways, “I’m not following.”

Peter chuckled, “Okay, um… when they walk into a room, you get a queasy feelin in your stomach. When they get up close, you get a hitch in your breath. When they touch you, you feel like your heart is gonna jump out of your chest. _That’s_ chemistry, my friend.” Peter tapped the table with his index finger.

Yondu’s eyes widened, “Well I’ll be shit on a log.” A lightbulb went off in his head. The feelin in his stomach when he saw her, when she smelled him, when she touched his arm. All that time he though she annoyed him, he was really _attracted_ to her?

Peter’s head tilted curiously, “Yondu are you tryin’ to tell me that you’ve never been in love before?”

Yondu looked offended “Hell no, I ain’t never been in _love_ before. I ain’t got time for none of that nonsense.”

Peter chuckled as he stood up, “Well, she don’t like me that way... and I don’t like her that way.” He took another swig of his beer. “Honestly I think she’s more like a sister to me.” Peter walked out.

“Well I’ll be damned.” Yondu whispered to himself.

Gwen heard the commotion indicating everyone’s return. She didn’t feel like coming out of her room, though. She had nothing to celebrate with them, and she was still unnerved about her last encounter with Yondu. He seemed quite upset about her touching him. Maybe it was a cultural thing. She knew she had feelings for him, but didn’t understand why. He always seems so cranky… well… mostly. They didn’t have anything in common and aside from all that, they weren’t even the same species. He wasn’t what her world considered handsome. She wondered if he was considered handsome by his.

But oddly, she did find him handsome... and clever, funny, self-confident... But of course none of that mattered if he couldn’t even tolerate being in the same room with her. She huffed and picked back up the e-reader, skimming through the titles to keep herself busy.


	7. Sharp Dressed Girl

The next day, Gamora offered to take Gwen into town to get some new clothes. A couple of outfits, something to sleep in, and something to fight in. Gamora had picked out a pair of brown leather pants and a sleeveless top to match. When Gwen tried it on, she had to admit it felt empowering. She stood in front of the mirror, turning this way and that. She especially liked the crisscross design on the back.

“Very nice” Gamora offered, “Now try these.” She handed Gwen a pair of wrist braces, a holster, a red jacket and a pair of red boots to match. Gwen put on the braces, jacket, and boots, but needed Gamora’s help figuring out the holster. “There, now you will be a little bit better protected.”

“Thanks Gamora. I’m sure this all isn’t cheap.”

“Don’t worry about it. That last job earned us quite a bit of coin.” She looked Gwen up and down. “Besides, it’ll be worth it to see the look on Yondu’s face when he sees you.” She grinned.

“What?!” Gwen’s cheeks turned bright red. “What do you mean?”

“You must have noticed?” Gamora added “He can’t keep his eyes off of you. He’s always staring at you like an askavarian with a fresh kill.”

Gwen didn’t understand the reference, but she got the hint. “What? I thought he hated me?”

Gamora laughed and rolled her eyes, “Please! If he hated you, you’d be dead already.”

Gwen gulped hard. “Oh.”

“Come now,” Gamora grabbed Gwen’s hand and led her to the trader to pay “Let’s head back to the ship and be off this rock. I tire of these materialistic animals.”

When the girls returned to the ship, they were greeted with oohs and aahs and whistles from the boys. Gwen covered her face, slightly embarrassed, but smiled again and bowed ceremoniously.

“I am Groot!” Groot stated, enthusiastically.

“He says you look tough.” Rocket added, nodding and folding his arms “And I gotta say, he ain’t wrong.”

“Indeed” Drax agreed “you look much less defenseless than you did. Possibly even dangerous.”

“Why, thank you guys” Gwen nodded.

“Wha-ha-how!” Peter smirked “Nicely done, Gamora. She looks like a first rate bad ass.”

Gamora walked over to Peter, putting her arm around him and smiling at her masterpiece. “I know.”

Just then Yondu walked in. He looked her up and down and gulped hard, but his face was expressionless. Everyone was quiet, waiting to see what he would say. He walked around her slowly and grimaced. “Nah, it ain’t right.”

Gwen felt a twinge in her chest.

Peter took a step forward with a warning tone, “Yondu.”

Yondu stopped in front of her and looked her in the eyes. “It’s missin’ somethin’.”

Gwen looked down at herself, confused. “I don’t under…”

She looked back up to see Yondu pull something out of his own holster and held it out in front of her. It was the blaster she had been practicing with the previous day. She looked back up at his grinning face and he winked at her. “Good job, girlie.”

She couldn’t contain her excitement as her eyes lit up. She took the gun proudly and placed it in her new holster.

Gwen noticed a change in his eyes. What used to look like frustrated death glares now looked more like wondering gazes. She couldn’t help but speculate where the change came from. Was it really the clothes? Did Gamora say something to him? What changed? The two smiled at each other.


	8. Groove Is In The Heart

Gwen had been on the ship for about 2 weeks now and everyone had shown her the ropes around the ship. Explained each role with the jobs they took, and even though she hadn’t gone on a job with them yet, she was excited for the upcoming opportunity. In the meantime, she kept busy by helping out around the ship. Dishes, laundry, helping Rocket with repairs, helping Drax with ailments, pretty much anywhere she was helpful, she tried. And in return, the crew had taken to asking her all of their Terran questions. Anytime she or Peter did something that they didn’t understand, Gwen seemed better apt to answering than Peter was. He didn’t remember as much, and often didn’t like talking about his past, as it reminded him of his mother too much.

One night on Xandar, after a successful job, the crew was sitting around a campfire next to the ship, drinking beer. Gwen could already feel herself getting tipsy. Yondu sat across from her, quietly admiring her through the flicker of the fire.

“I do not understand you Terrans and your incessant need for dancing.” Drax contemplated with annoyance. Gwen could tell he was well on his way to his own buzz. “Tell me, Guinevere. Why must you dance?!”

“It’s in our blood, man!” Peter clasped his hand to his chest. “It’s just a part of us!”

Gwen laughed and shrugged her shoulders “Dancing is very strong form of expression for Terrans. We use it to convey happiness, or sadness, when we’re angry and even when we’re in love.”

Peter nodded and raised his beer, “ _Especially_ when we’re in love!” He put his arm around Gamora tenderly.

Rocket jumped into the conversation. “How can a few hip wiggles and butt shakes do that much talkin? It don’t make no sense to me either.”

Gwen got another dose of courage with her beer and jumped up “Here, I’ll show ya” she tipped back the last of her bottle and then ran back into the ship.

“What is she doin?” Rocket wondered.

“Duh” Peter retorted “She’s showin ya!”

Gwen came back with her cell phone. She flipped through some songs and then placed the phone down and hit play.

 

_We’re going to dance…_

_We’re going to dance…_

_We’re going to dance…_

_And have some fun…_

The beat started and Gwen began to sway side to side, bobbing her head along with the beat. Peter jumped up and started dancing with her.

“This is how we dance when we’re happy.” She raised her arms and bounced her feet, snickering along with Peter. Gamora and Rocket laughed at the two Terrans making idiots of themselves. Drax just shook his head and Groot dared not to move a branch. All the while Yondu still sat silently, smiling at Gwen. She caught his eye and smiled back. The liquid courage in her belly was making her feel all warm and fuzzy.

She turned the player to a slower, more seductive song. “And this is how we convey desire.” She moved around the fire over to Yondu and stood in front of him, staring into his eyes as she swayed and moved her hips to the music.

 

_Well I’ve got thick skin and an elastic heeeaaaaart_

_But your blade it might be too sharp_

_I’m like a rubber band until you pull to haaaaaard_

_Yeah I may snap and I move fast_

The other boys hooted and hollered watching Gwen’s attempt to seduce Yondu. But Yondu didn’t need any convincing. He was ready to take her up to his bunk right now. But he just smiled, staring into her eyes, while she swung back and forth in front of him. She turned around placing her backside squarely in his view, gyrating her hips.

Yondu had had enough. He put his beer down and grabbed Gwen’s hips, pulling her down and into his lap. The crew cheered teasingly. Even Drax chuckled. Gwen laughed and wrapped her arms around Yondu’s neck, and he smiled in return.

The two sat, staring into each other’s eyes, the music fading off into the background as another song started.

“So, did it work?” Gwen whispered to Yondu playfully.

Yondu shook his head “Girl, you didn’t have to dance to get my attention. You did that the moment you ran onto that ship.”

Gwen grinned widely. She leaned in to kiss him and he kissed back passionately. His lips were softer, and warmer, than she imagined. He pulled her in tight and she melted like butter in his arms.

 

The two had made out so long that the rest of the crew had gone back into the ship, leaving them alone with a dying fire. Gwen was sure she knew what Peter and Gamora were up to tonight, after the look he had given her before they left. Gwen was tempted to make the same move on Yondu, but realized she was probably too far gone to be able to enjoy it properly.

She was straddled in Yondu’s lap, her fingertips smoothing over his stomach and chest. Yondu’s one hand on her backside, holding her close to him, and the other rubbing her back. Gwen had moved her kisses to his neck, all while he made humming sounds. She could feel herself fading. She raised her head and kissed his lips one more time.

“I’d better get myself to bed before I can’t.” She smiled, kissing him again.

“How bout I walk you do your door? I promise, no funny business.” He kissed her again.

“I think I can handle that.” She kissed him a final time before they both stood up and headed back into the ship.

The ship was dark and quiet. Everyone must have already been in their rooms. Gwen didn’t realize how late it had gotten. They made it through the halls before Yondu spoke up.

“Hey Gwen, can I ask you somethin’?” He hesitated.

“Of course,” Gwen tried to sound reassuring.

“Why’d you pick me?” He seemed nervous. “I mean, it wasn’t cause Peter was already taken, was it?”

Gwen chuckled and rolled her eyes. She turned to look him directly in the eyes and spoke assuredly, “If I wanted a Terran that I had a thousand things in common with, I wouldn’t have just left an entire planet full of them.”

This made Yondu smile, and he puffed up his chest proudly. Gwen giggled and Yondu bent down to kiss her one last time before leaving her behind her closed door. He turned around, straightened up his jacket and began to whistle as he strutted back to his room, which sent his arrow swirling around him like a moth dancing around a fire.


	9. Words Left Unspoken

Gwen awoke the next morning with only a mild hangover and a slightly foggy recollection of a night full of busy lips and groping hands. She blushed at the memory and grinned. After dressing and grooming, she headed to the kitchen for breakfast.

Peter was already raiding the fridge, still in his pajama pants. His hair looked like a rat had tried to nest in it during the night. “Well, well, well,” he turned around and gave her a knowing smile, wiggling his eyebrows “I’m guessing by that shit-eatin-grin on your face, somebody had a good night?”

Gwen rolled her eyes as she pulled a skillet out of the cabinet. “I had a very pleasant evening, thank you very much.” She decided to turn the tables on him. “I’m guessing by that rat’s nest on your head, somebody didn’t get much sleep?” She wiggled her own eyebrows back at him.

He bowed and spoke in a silly English accent, “You’re assumption would be correct, dear lady.” They both laughed and then Peter leaned in to whisper in Gwen’s ear, “You should see Gamora’s hair… yikes!”

Gwen scoffed at Peter and teasingly jabbed her elbow into his side. The two began working on a large hearty breakfast for everyone, deciding it would be a nice gesture. As the smell of scrambled eggs and fried bacon wafted through the ship, more of the crew sluggishly meandered into the kitchen.

“Good grief! What is wrong with you humans?! Have you never heard of sleeping in?!” Rocket rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Groot was trailing in behind him.

“I… am… Groot.” Groot yawned.

“Hey, don’t blame me. You didn’t have to come out.” Peter waved an egg-covered spatula at Groot.

“I am Groot!” He barked back.

“It’s not my fault I’m an amazing cook!” Peter feigned modesty.

“No, it’s mine.” Yondu teased, “And you’ve never thanked me properly, either, you ungrateful Terran." 

Gwen whipped around as soon as she heard Yondu’s voice. She met his gaze and smiled eagerly at him. He smiled back and winked as he took a seat at the bench in the middle of the room, with the rest of the waking crew. He was already fully dressed, including his signature jacket, which Gwen had just realized she’d never seen him without. She would have to remedy that, and soon. She unknowingly gave him a come-hither grin while she was lost in thought. Yondu’s eyebrow raised and a smirk formed around his own mouth. She snapped out of her daydream and blushed, turning back around to tend to the bacon before it burned. Yondu just shook his head and chuckled.

 

By the time breakfast was ready, Gamora and Drax had joined the table. Everyone was sitting around laughing, joking, and swapping stories of the previous day’s job. Gamora teased Drax about the Xandarian he attempted to seduce to distract while she gained entry to the vault.

“Surely I was not aware that Rocket was more her type.” He laughed looking down at the irritated raccoon.

“You didn’t have to listen to the things she wanted to do to me! It gave me nightmares!” Rocket exaggerated a shudder.

“You should have seen it, Gwen!” Peter laughed “When she twirled her fingers through his fur, I thought he was going to jump out of his skin!”

Gwen smiled, but Peter could see the disappointment in her eyes at the fact that she was again left out of the action. “Hey, how about next time you come with us? You don’t have to do anything, at least watching would give you some insight.”

“I’d like that, but really, I can’t even defend myself yet. I can barely handle a blaster.”

Yondu thought for a moment and then spoke up, “How’s about I teach you some hand to hand combat?”

“Really?” Gwen started to get excited at the prospect of finally being included.

“Sure. I ain’t the greatest, but I taught Peter. I can show ya the basics. It’ll get ya out of a tight spot in a pinch.”

“And I can show you some basic sword fighting techniques.” Gamora added.

“I am Groot!”

“No, you can NOT teach her how to grow roots out of her ears!” Rocket shook his head incredulously.

Gwen laughed and leaned over to hug Groot. “Thanks guys. I really appreciate you all trying to make me feel included.”

 

Later that afternoon, Yondu took Gwen out to a clearing to work on some grappling techniques. They stood a few paces across from each other. Yondu shrugged off his long jacket and then his vest.

Gwen placed her hands on her hips, “Well if this is all it took to get you out of your clothes, we could have done this sooner.”

Yondu unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves, “Work now, little girl. Play later.”

Gwen rolled her eyes and huffed in mock irritation. “Alright, fine.”

“Now” he waved her forward as he hunched down in a low crouch, she copied his stance. “The key is to get low. Don’t let the other guy get below you.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard to do, I’m pretty short.” She joked.

Yondu cracked a half-smile “You’re right. You’re height is an advantage there. But ya also don’t want him getting on top of ya neither.”

“This is confusing!” she flustered.

Yondu laughed, “Don’t worry, it’ll make sense soon.”

The two grappled for over an hour, each attempt ended with Yondu pinning Gwen to the ground. Each time he told her to get up and do it again. Each time she became more and more frustrated. Once more, Yondu came at Gwen. However, this time, with a guttural scream, she grabbed his shirt, swung her leg behind his and pushed him over, knocking him to the ground and her right on top of him. They both laid there staring at each other breathing hard.

“I did it,” Gwen whispered, staring wide eyed. “I did it! I did…”

She didn’t get to finish before Yondu had grabbed her wrists, threw her over and once again had her pinned to the ground.

“DAMNIT!” She shouted.

Yondu just laughed, keeping her pinned. Gwen huffed. She’d had enough. It was playtime now. She leaned forward and caught his mouth with hers. He let go of her wrists and she cupped his face into her hands. He reached underneath her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling himself onto her.

“You plannin on disarming all your enemies with a kiss?” Yondu breathed in between kisses.

“Well it worked, didn’t it?” she panted. She pushed him off of her and onto his back, then climbed on top of him and began kissing his neck, sliding her fingers down to his shirt, slowly undoing one button after another. Yondu laid still, his eyes closed, rubbing Gwen’s back. When she finished with the buttons, she slowly kissed down his neck and to his chest. She pulled his shirt out of the waist of his pants and then sat up to fully see his bare chest.

Yondu felt vulnerable, but his worries were pointless.

"You are... Amazing" Gwen smoothed her hands over his chest and stomach. Aside from the scars, his blue skin was bare and soft. His muscles were thicker and more toned than she had imagined.

"You're not so bad yourself." Yondu teased as he pulled Gwen's shirt up and over her head, tossing it to the side. 

Gwen playfully gasped and pretended to hide herself behind her arms. 

"Turn about's fair play."

"Well that's a very 'Terran' thing to say."

"I may have heard Peter mention it a time or two." Yondu rested his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. 

Gwen sat there silently for a few moments, taking in everything that had happened the past few days. She sighed heavily. “I don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what?” Yondu peaked through one eye.

“Just last week it seemed like you hated me. Now look where we are. I don’t understand. What… happened? What changed?”

Yondu smiled and closed his eyes again. “Chemistry.”

“What??” Gwen was confused.

Yondu sat up, resting on his elbows. “Remember how you told me you and Peter didn’t have chemistry?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, to be honest, I didn’t rightly know what that meant.”

“Really?” Gwen asked sounding amused.

“Yes, _really_.” Yondu mocked back. “Anyway, I asked Peter what it meant. He said it was a feelin’ you got deep down in yer gut when ya liked someone. It hit me that I was havin all those feelins for you, but not knowin what it was, it was damn unsettling. It frustrated me.”

A lightbulb went off in Gwen’s head. “Yondu,”

“Yeah?”

“Are you telling me you’ve never had… these feelings for someone before?”

That question made Yondu self-conscious. “No.” He grew a stern look on his face and pulled himself out from under Gwen. He stood up and started buttoning up his shirt.

“Wait!” Gwen jumped up, “Please don’t be mad! I didn’t mean to upset you!”

“You’re mocking me, girl! I don’t like that!” He grabbed his vest and jacket and started back for the ship.

“I haven’t either!” Gwen quickly admitted raising her hands in the air and then letting them fall.

Yondu froze in place. He turned halfway back, looking down at the ground. “You haven’t?”

“No, not like this.” She seemed just as confused.

He turned fully around, still flustered, “What do you mean ‘not like this’?”

“I mean, I’ve had boyfriends before, I’ve _liked_ guys before....” she was struggling to put meaning to her thoughts.

“Don’t mince words, girl. I’ve had my fair share of women in this world, and then some,” He walked back over to her and pointed at her “but don’t you dare tell me there ain’t somethin there that’s… different.”

“I _know_ there is!” Now Gwen was yelling. “I’m just as… shocked or confused… or whatever… as you are! I just figured… someone like you…”

“Someone like _me_?!” She was certain she could see a shade of red bubbling up underneath his bright blue skin.

“Yes! Someone like _you_!” She huffed as she pulled her shirt back on. “Someone… well-travelled. Someone who has seen more of the world than I ever thought existed. Someone who doesn’t hold back and takes what he wants! If ever there was a person who fell in love a million times over, it would be you!” Gwen froze, wide eyed at the realization of what she just spat out. Neither spoke for a long moment.

Yondu’s brow furrowed in confusion but his voice was calm. “Did you just… um… kinda, sorta… in a roundabout way… say you were in… in _love_ with me?”

Gwen pressed her lips together tight and shook her head. “Um… No.”

“No?”

“No… maybe.” She looked down and fidgeted with her wrist braces.

“Maybe?”

Gwen shrugged “Maybe.”

Yondu smirked and walked closer to Gwen, standing toe to toe, he cupped her chin and tilted her head up to his. “This ain’t any easier for you than it is for me, is it?”

Gwen shook her head slightly “Nope.”

At that, Yondu smiled and kissed Gwen softly. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his waist and nuzzled her face into his chest.

“You know…” Yondu started “I ain’t good with apologies.”

Gwen’s voice was muffled, “That’s good enough for me. I’ll take it.”

Yondu laughed and pulled her in for another kiss.

 

Yondu and Gwen walked back into the ship. Yondu smacked Gwen on the ass, giving it a good squeeze before letting go.

“I gotta go take care of some stuff. Meet me in my room in about an hour?” Yondu asked her, but not really asking.

“Okay?” Gwen tilted her head with suspicion. Yondu just winked and walked off.

Gamora was sitting on the couch in the common room, flipping through a tablet when Gwen walked in. “Lover’s quarrel?” Gamora asked.

“What?” Gwen scoffed, pretending like she didn’t know what she was talking about.

Gamora looked up at her with a raised eyebrow “We all heard it.”

“Damnit!” Gwen cursed herself.

“It’s okay. My day isn’t complete without a spat with Peter at least once.” She acted disinterested in the conversation.

“Can I ask you a question, Gamora?” Gwen sat down next to her. Gamora put the book down, giving up the act.

“Sure.”

“You and Peter… you’ve… how did Yondu put it… have you two… ‘declared’ your intentions for each other?”

Gamora was completely unfazed by the question. “We have.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Not… as long ago as it probably should have. But I have trust issues. And Peter was patient.”

“Does the crew know how close you two are?”

“Probably not. But then again it isn’t really any of their business. I mean, they know we’re together, that’s all that matters.”

“Is… declaring yourselves like being married?”

Gamora laughed “No, it’s more like, what Peter calls an engagement. Saying you intend to marry at some point.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks.” Gwen smiled at Gamora and stood up.

“Anytime.” Gamora went back to her book.

Gwen went to get a bite to eat and then headed back to her room so she could shower and change before meeting Yondu.


	10. Explicit Content

Gwen knocked on Yondu’s door. After a few moments the door slid open and there was Yondu, sans jacket and vest. She smiled. She had to admit, she preferred this look.

Yondu smiled back and invited her in. “Come on in. I have something for ya.”

He sat down at a small round table with two chairs and gestured for her to sit in the opposite seat. On the table was a glass bottle with a clear liquid inside, and two small shot glasses.

“What’s this?” She asked suspiciously.

“It’s a very old, very expensive liquor from my home planet. I… procured it, from a collector a few years back.” He poured the liquid into the two shot glasses and handed one to Gwen.

“This isn’t going to melt my face off, is it?” She looked cautiously at the shot glass.

Yondu laughed. “No, it’s actually quite mild.”

Gwen gave it a cursory sniff. It had a light and sweet scent, almost floral.

Yondu held up his glass, Gwen mirrored in kind.

Yondu looked into Gwen’s eyes with that same desire he had the previous night “To us... to discovering new possibilities and hopefully, a few grand adventures on the way.”

Gwen smiled and nodded “To us.”

They touched glasses and drank.

Gwen’s face lit up and she coughed hard. “Mild my ass!” She laughed and coughed again.

Yondu laughed, “Sorry ‘bout that. Too hard for ya?”

She held out her glass, refusing to be bested, “Hell no, hit me again.”

What are we drinkin’ to this time? He poured both shots and held up his glass.

“To the great and wide cosmos, for even making this night possible.” She chuckled and they tipped their drinks back.

Yondu took the shotglass from her. “Okay, easy there girl. I had to put you to bed last night, I’d rather not have to do it again.”

“Well” Gwen grinned devilishly as she got up to straddle Yondu in his chair. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You could just put me to bed in here.”

“I think I like that idea just fine.”

Yondu kissed Gwen hard, pulling her closer to him. She moaned as his body pressed firmly against hers. She could feel his member growing in his pants and was immediately grateful that everything seemed to be, so far, not much different than what she was used to.

Yondu wrapped her legs around his waist and stood up. Gwen let out a delighted squeal. He walked her over to his bed and laid her down gently. Standing in front of her, he removed his shirt and climbed on top of her, kissing her neck. He slid her shirt off and began kissing her breasts, then down to her stomach. Gwen’s breath caught as he unbuttoned her pants and slid them down to her knees, leaving her white cotton panties exposed. He licked her stomach and then down her inner thighs. Her breathing sped up. He pulled her pants off and threw them to the floor. He stood up once more in front of her and slowly unbuttoned his own pants, staring at Gwen’s creamy skin. He slid his pants down and kicked them onto the floor next to hers.

He stood in front of her fully exposed. Gwen gasped as she realized she was very wrong in assuming his physique. He was much larger than she had expected. Maybe not impossible, but there would definitely be an adjustment period required.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Gwen sat up and unhooked her bra and then let it fall to the floor. Yondu’s own breath hitched at the sight of her silky white breasts and firm nipples. He knelt down on the bed in between her legs and kissed her thighs as he slid her panties off.

He bent her knees up and over his shoulders. He stared into her eyes and gave her clit an experimental lick. Gwen’s back arched, she shuttered and moaned and fell back onto the bed. He cocked a half smile and gave another quick lick. Her body jerked and she moaned again. He grabbed her hips and held them tight, preparing her for what was to come next. He jutted out his tongue and swirled it around her opening several times, sending jolts of pleasure throughout her body. She grabbed his hands to steady herself and breathed heavily, “Do it!” she whimpered. And with that, he slid his tongue into her folds, rolling and jutting every which way. She jerked and moaned, white knuckling her hands in his, willing herself to keep still as much as possible. Her pussy grew sweeter and sweeter as she became increasingly wet. Yondu hungered for it. His plan to tease her longer came crashing down as he licked her cunt and then swirled again around her clit. Gwen’s ass came off the bed as she bucked and shivered. Her moans grew in intensity until she could hold back no more. She let out a long, hard groan as she came all over Yondu’s mouth. He eagerly took it in, lapping up her sweet juices until she stopped shaking.

He moved up her body, kissing her stomach, stopping to play with her breasts and lick her nipples. Gwen ran her hands up his arms and shoulders. She moved up to his neck and to his ears, massaging his earlobes. He kissed up her shoulders and then her neck, and then her jaw, until he found her lips. She could still taste herself on his mouth. She wrapped her legs around his waist and reached down to get herself a handful. She gently stroked his massive cock and guided it towards her dripping wet pussy.

Yondu pulled his face away to look her in the eye. “You sure you wanna do this?” He asked sincerely. Gwen smiled and nodded enthusiastically. “We don’t have to. I don’t want you doin nothing ya ain’t comfortable with. I can get off lots a other ways.”

“Damnit Yondu will you just shut up and fuck me, already?” She demanded.

“Yes ma’am.” He went back to kissing her and let her guide him in. She went slow, getting the head in was the hardest part. As soon as it slipped in, Yondu gave out a guttural growl, but when Gwen gasped Yondu jerked away.

“No, no, it’s okay.” She reassured him, stroking his face.

“No, it’s not. We should stop.”

Gwen gripped his dick tighter and gritted her teeth. She looked him dead in the eyes. “I… want… this!”

Yondu sighed and whispered “Okay”.

He let her try again, this time keeping eye contact. He slid his cock in once more. Yondu growled again. It was a bit easier this time, though her eyes still widened and she sucked in a deep breath. She nodded, letting him know she didn’t want to stop. He nodded back. He pushed in further, and she gave an excited moan. Her eyes closed once again, turning her head to the side. Yondu began pumping, slowly at first, testing the waters. His whole body shuttered. He buried his face in her neck, trying to calm himself as he pumped again, and again. He thought he was going to lose it every time Gwen moaned or shook. He gripped the sheets and, in response, heard a loud tear.

“Shit” Yondu cursed.

They both laughed, which did not help his situation.

Yondu’s eyes widened. “Shit, shit! Don’t laugh, don’t laugh!”

Gwen pressed her hand hard against her mouth, but she couldn’t hold it in. She busted up laughing, which sent pulsing waves through her body. Yondu couldn’t hold back any longer. He growled loudly and pumped his cock into her hard. She moaned hungrily, wrapping her arms around his shoulders tight and burying her face in his neck. Her body rocked back and forth as he groaned and then came forcefully inside her.

Yondu collapsed on top of Gwen, both breathing heavily, covered in sweat and cum. He turned to face her, kissing her wherever his lips could reach. She stroked his face, tracing the lines of his scars with her fingertips. After his cock had returned to its pre-aroused state, Yondu slid out easily. He rolled over onto his back and Gwen rolled to her side. She tucked her head into his shoulder, stroking his chest. After a few minutes, Gwen smirked and smacked Yondu’s chest.

“What the hell was that for?” he looked down at her defensively.

“For future reference”, she sighed and then yawned “ _Never_ tell someone _not_ to laugh.” To which, they both chuckled again.

 

Yondu slid out from underneath Gwen and walked over to the wash sink in the corner. He pulled a washcloth out from a cabinet and began cleaning himself off. It was then that he noticed the blood on himself. He panicked and looked back over at Gwen, who, moments before had been eyeing him adoringly, but was now confused by the look on his face.

She sat up on her elbows, “What’s wrong?”

Yondu walked back over to her and spread her legs gently. “Did I do this?” Yondu’s voice was full of concern.

Gwen looked down, “Oh…” She was startled and slightly embarrassed.

“I mean, you would have told me if it was… _that_ time, right?”

“Of course!” Gwen defended.

“So I _did_ do this?” Yondu was internally scolding himself. He pulled his pants off the floor and put them back on.

“Stop that,” Gwen demanded. She took the washcloth from him and walked over to the sink to clean herself off. “This happens sometimes with Terran girls. Especially with… larger men. And _always_ with their first time.”

Yondu’s eyes widened “You ain’t tellin me this was your first time, are you?!”

“No!” Gwen rolled her eyes. “I was just explaining. It’s not uncommon.” She walked around the room, pulling her clothes off of the floor and putting them on.

“Guinevere,” Yondu stood in front of Gwen, tipped her face to his and spoke sternly “You’d tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t ya?”

“Probably not. But I _am_ fine. I’m better than fine, I’m great!” She smoothed her hands over his stomach and then wrapped her arms around his waist. “In fact, that was undoubtedly the best sex I’ve ever had. And the way you moved your tongue…” Gwen rolled her eyes back and moaned, remembering how it felt.

Yondu snorted “Damn you, woman. Take this seriously.”

Gwen laughed. “There’s nothing to take seriously. I swear, Yondu, you did nothing wrong and _everything_ right.” She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his lips softly.

Yondu conceded defeat and kissed her back. They replaced the torn and dirty sheets with fresh ones. Gwen teasingly suggested that next time, they put down a large blanket or towel to protect the bed. Yondu smiled at the prospect of a ‘next time’.


	11. Don't Go Breakin' My Heart

The next two weeks flew by. Gamora taught Gwen some basic sword fighting techniques, but she wasn’t very good considering all of the swords were too heavy for her to wield comfortably. Drax taught her how to use his daggers, which she found much easier and more to her liking. He started by teaching her how to throw them at a target. Her speed wasn’t great, but her accuracy, like with the guns, was pretty good. Rocket taught Gwen how to use her small stature to her advantage and overtake an opponent. She couldn’t jump or flip like he could, but she found his techniques much more helpful than Yondu’s.

She still came to Yondu for target practice and grappling. He was the best with aiming. Which was probably why he was so skilled with his arrow. She loved watching his face, and his fin, light up when he sent his arrow soaring through the air. He was calculating, confident, and unstoppable. The fact that he was a cold blooded killer both terrified and mesmerized Gwen. The fact that his heart warmed up to only her, turned her to mush in his hands.

Every time Yondu overpowered Gwen in combat, he became more and more frustrated. “Again!” he would snap. “Do it again!” Pushing and pushing her harder. He threw her to the ground, pinned her at every turn. “How do you expect to defend yourself like this?!” Gwen assumed his nasty demeanor and constant repetition was just par for the course for someone like him. She tried not to take it personally.

Gwen slept in his bed every night and she slowly started to notice a change in his behavior. She grew increasingly concerned by it. He often started to seem distant, worried, or short tempered with her.

 

The two were relaxing in bed one night after a rowdy romp session when Gwen asked a question that unintentionally set him off.

“So should I just bring all my stuff in here? I’m never in my room anymore, anyway.”

He huffed and stared up at the ceiling. “There’s no room.” He grumbled.

Gwen sat up “What do you mean there’s no room? You have an empty cabinet right there? Why can’t I…”

“Because I said there’s no room! That’s why. End of discussion.” He snapped back, jumping out of bed and throwing on his pants.

“What the hell is your problem?!” She demanded “You’ve been acting strange for days.”

He walked over to the table and poured himself a drink, “There ain’t nothin wrong with me. Yer the one gettin’ too attached.”

Yondu’s words were like a stab in her chest. She let out an involuntary breath as the wind was knocked out of her. “I… I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to get ‘ _too attached’_.” She spat his words back at him like a curse. “Isn’t that kind of the point of a relationship?!” She climbed off the bed and threw her clothes on.

Yondu took another drink, “I aint never said this was a relationship! That was your own assumption!”

Another stab. “Well yeah!” She bit back “That’s what you usually call it when two people fuck each other every night!” She walked out of the room in a huff and then cursed loudly when she realized she couldn’t slam the door behind her. “Damn Star Trek doors!”

 

Gwen stormed off to her own room and put her headphones on. Listening to the music, she tried to drown out Yondu’s voice in her head. How could he say such horrible things? She knew how he felt about her. She knew it wasn’t just a fling. Why was he pulling away? Through her headphones she could hear a faint banging. She knew it was Yondu at her door.

“Go away!” she yelled as she turned to face the wall. The banging didn’t stop. Now she could hear him yelling through the wall. “I said GO AWAY!” She turned her music up.

A few moments later she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. In a panic, she screamed and reached her arm back to defend herself. She caught Yondu right in the jaw with her elbow and he fell backwards onto the floor.

“Oh my god, Yondu! I’m so sorry!” She threw the headphones off and dropped down beside him.

He held his jaw and laughed. “At least now I know you can give a beating.”

“Why are you so obsessed with me defending myself? Peter hasn’t even let me go on a job yet and I have you all here to protect me anyway.”

Yondu finally looked her in the eyes and let out a hard sigh. She could tell, whatever this was had been weighing on him heavily for a while. “I know Peter told you, I ain’t a part of his crew.”

“Well, Yeah...” Gwen recalled the conversation she had with Peter, about Yondu having his own ship. And then it hit her. For the second time that evening, the wind had been knocked out of her. “Oh…” she said solemnly.

Yondu spoke slowly, letting his words sink in, “I’m gonna to be gone in two weeks.”

Gwen felt like she had been kicked hard in the gut. She leaned back against her bed and held her stomach. “Well…” she started “Why can’t I just come with you?” She was sure he would snap and tell her no, especially after they just fought over cabinet space. Why wouldn’t he fight over cabin space?

“You could…” Yondu started.

Gwen looked up at him excitedly.

“But…” he pointed.

She rolled her eyes, “Of course there’s a ‘but’.”

“ _But…_ I gotta big crew of very nasty men. Peter is no comparison to them. He’s a good kid. He’d never try to hurt you. But my men…”

The realization of everything culminating in the past two weeks hit her like a ton of bricks. “ _That’s_ why you’ve been pushing me so hard." 

Yondu sat on the floor in front of her. “I want you there with me, but if you can’t protect yourself, I can’t risk it. Also, you gotta think, you’d be leavin everyone here behind. Goin’ on with me, on a ship you don’t know, in the middle of space with a hundred men who either wanna kill ya, rape ya, or eat ya.”

Gwen gulped hard. She had a lot to think about.

 

Yondu stayed in his room for the night while Gwen stayed in hers. No distractions. She tried to sleep, but couldn’t. She loved being on Peter’s ship. She loved the whole crew, even when Rocket was trying to get a rise out of her, or Drax when his lack of filter caused him to say the wrong thing. She was safe here. At least as safe as you could be out in space.

She wanted to be with Yondu. But the idea of being on a new ship with strangers, mean ones from the way Yondu spoke, terrified her. How badly did she want to be with him? She imagined herself in this strange new environment; scared, lost, alone. But she wouldn’t be alone. She’d have Yondu. He’d keep her warm at night, he’d help be her compass. And even though he couldn’t protect her from every boogeyman, she knew he’d protect her in every way possible.

Gwen thought of what it would be like on The Milano without Yondu. She’d still be happy, she’d be with friends. She’d get to join them on adventures and laugh and tell stories at night. But she knew something would be missing. Gwen couldn’t help but roll her eyes and chuckle. How easy it was to jump on this ship when she left Earth. But now, the idea of leaving it to jump on another petrified her.

Gwen woke up a few hours later, feeling no more rested than when she first laid down. She stood up and walked to her little window and looked out, watching the stars all around her. Panic filled her heart. She felt cold and alone. She looked back at her empty bed and knew exactly why.

Yondu had tried sleeping, unsuccessfully, for the last few hours. What sleep he did get was fitful and the rest of the time he just stared at the ceiling. His bed felt too big and his arms were empty. He could easily go back to his ship without Gwen and go on with his days as if she never existed. He was good with his Poker face. But he knew once lights out came every night, he would miss her something fierce. His chest began to ache at merely the thought of not having her there.

Just then he heard a light tapping on his door. He quickly jumped up to open it and beamed at the small bright eyed girl on the other side. Gwen leapt into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck.

“I don’t want to be away from you” she mumbled into his shoulder.


	12. Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Gwen spent the next two weeks enjoying what time she had left with the crew. She even got to go on a job with them. As uneventful as it was, she learned a lot. How well the crew worked together. How each person was responsible for their part and how they all relied on each other to make sure they did their jobs correctly. They were all business, even Peter, but especially Yondu. She saw a different side of both of them that she hadn’t seen before. She was amazed by all of them.

When she told everyone that she had decided to go with Yondu, Peter and Gamora were the only one’s that didn’t try to talk her out of it. Rocket and Drax both agreed it was suicide and Groot begged her to stay. Even Yondu tried to talk her out of it.

“I’m going. End of discussion.” Gwen snarled as she attempted to hold her ground, both physically and metaphorically, as she grappled with him in the common room. They weren’t going to land on another planet before reaching Yondu’s ship, and this was the biggest room on the Milano. He was once again trying to pin her to the floor, but she had learned some new tricks from Rocket that were paying off. She couldn’t use her strength against him, but she could use her speed. She jumped out of the way, quickly turning around and slamming his back to the ground. She whipped out the dagger that Drax had given her and held it to his neck. She thought she had the upper hand until he grabbed her wrists and threw her off of him, throwing her across the room.

“Damnit Gwen, if you don’t get this, you’ll be dead in a week. You gotta stop bein’ soft on me. I know you can best me! Now do it!” He jumped on her and held her down by her throat.

Gwen started to panic, but then relaxed and closed her eyes. She went into her head for a moment. She needed to stop treating him like Yondu. Right now, he wasn’t Yondu. He was every skilled killer on his ship. How would she treat one of _them_? Gwen opened her eyes and flashed her teeth with a snarl. She yelled loudly as she kicked her foot up, right between his legs. He hollered and fell to the ground beside her. She jumped on him again and this time, she pulled out her blaster and held it to his temple.

“Bang.” she whispered in his ear. She stood up and put it back in her holster. She had fire and anger in her eyes.

Yondu laid on his back, breathing hard, still trying to gather himself together. He looked up at her standing above him and a sense of pride came over him. If he hadn’t still been in so much pain, he’d have picked her up and taken her back to his bunk. A smile creeped up on his face. “Good girl” he panted.

 

Later that afternoon, Gwen went to get herself a snack and found Gamora reading in the galley.

“Hey, how’s that book?” Gwen asked, reaching into the refrigerator.

“Not great. But learning schematics for security systems has apparently become part of the job.” Gamora admitted. She put the book down. “What’s up?”

“Can I ask you another question?” Gwen stopped and shut the fridge door.

“Always.” She said with a smile.

“How come neither you nor Peter has tried to talk me out of going with Yondu?”

Gamora thought for a moment before answering, “I don’t know why Peter hasn’t. But personally, I think you’ll do fine. Not all of Yondu’s men are complete assholes, and I really do think you’re capable of handling them yourself. You’re tougher than you give yourself credit for.”

Gwen smiled, “Thanks. Now if you could convince Yondu, that’d be great.”

Gamora laughed. “He knows it. He’s just… hard on the people he cares about. He used to tell Peter all the time that his crew wanted to eat him.”

“What?!” Gwen laughed.

Gamora chuckled, but then grew solemn “Honestly though, if you’re serious about this, you need to talk to Peter. He’s been there. He can give you some advice.” 

Gwen decided that might be a good idea.

 

Gwen knocked on Peter’s door. He opened it and invited her in.

“Hey girlie. What’s up?” He folded his arms.

“I need to talk to you, about Yondu’s ship.” She said sheepishly.

Peter looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “I figured this was coming. Have a seat.” He walked back into his room and sat down at the small table, similar to Yondu’s. He had been working on something on his tablet, but shut it off when she came in.

Gwen sat down beside him. “Do you think I’m making a mistake?” she asked shyly.

Peter thought for a moment and then smiled at her. “I think you love him.” He looked over at a picture of him and Gamora on his desk. “And I think we Terrans will do crazy things for love.”

Gwen smiled back.

“Don’t get me wrong. His ship is tough. You’ll have to be on your guard all the time. Especially when he’s not around. But I really do think you’ll be fine.”

 

Gwen took his words to heart. On the day of the big move, Gwen dressed in her combat outfit. She braided strands of her hair as a warrior would, and pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. She holstered her blaster and sheathed her dagger. She may not feel intimidating, but damnit she was going to act the part as best she could. But actually, she was wrong. Her look did make her feel more empowered. She was definitely much stronger, faster and more agile than she was six weeks ago, when she first came onto the ship. She was skilled with not only a gun, but also a dagger and now her hands. What did she have to be intimidated about? She could probably kill more men on that ship than could kill her. Which is exactly how Yondu wanted her to feel. Powerful, strong, capable. She looked herself over in the mirror and grinned. She was ready for this.

 

Peter and Yondu had both spent the morning communicating back and forth with Yondu’s ship. They were only a few hours away from her new home. Gwen could feel a knot form in her stomach.

Yondu saw Gwen standing behind him at the cockpit. He was sure her face had turned a new shade of green. She stood silent, staring out into space, trying to keep her composure and not throw up all over the controls. He took her hand and led her back into the common room. He sat her down on the couch and knelt down in front of her, her hands cupped in his.

“You don’t have to do this. We could end this right now and you could stay here with Peter.”

“But then you’d be gone.” She whimpered.

“I gotta go back, baby girl. I got a ship to run. I got a hundred men relyin' on me to do my job, and I’ve already been gone too long.”

Gwen nodded, staring at the wall “Well then I’m coming with.”

Yondu decided to try one more time to let her go. He sighed heavily. “You'd easily make any man happy. One that’s better for you, that deserves you. You don’t want an old, beat down Centaurian space pirate like me. I’m no good for you. My life is no good for you.”

Gwen finally looked him in the eyes. She shook her head and scoffed, “You might be pretty, honey, but you are _so_ wrong. Have you not seen how strong you’ve made me? You have believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself. In the past 6 weeks, you’ve made me happier than I ever was on Earth. And there’s no way I’m going to just let you hop on a ship and disappear into the darkness." 

Yondu gave up. He smiled at her sadly and kissed her hands.

 

Everyone said their goodbyes before reaching the ship. Yondu didn’t want Gwen turning into a blubbering mess in front of his crew. She tearfully hugged everyone, except Rocket, who settled for a fist bump instead. Groot grew a literal handful of flowers, plucked them off and gave them to her. Gwen hugged him tight saying “I’ll miss you most of all, Scarecrow.” No one got the reference except Peter, who chuckled quietly to himself.

Gwen watched as The Eclector emerged into view from the blackness of space through the cockpit window. She was both amazed and frozen with fear in that moment.

“Oh my god.” She whispered to herself.

The ship was enormous compared to Peter’s. She could easily get lost, cornered, her body dumped where it would never be found. A lot of space between her and Yondu. He would be busy with a ship that size. How much time would he actually have with her? What would she do with herself?

Peter walked up beside her. “Yup”, his arms folded across his chest. “It’s a hard life on that ship.”

Gwen turned to look at him, wide eyed like a deer in headlights.

Peter put his hand on her back to reassure her “You’re stronger than you think. You’ll do fine. As long as he’s what you really want, nothing else matters.”

 

Peter’s ship floated into and docked with The Eclector. Only Gwen, Yondu and Peter walked to the hatch. No teary goodbye’s, Gwen reminded herself.

Yondu gave Gwen some last minute advice. “No hand holding, keep yer eyes straight, walk behind me, but not too far behind. You’ll have to keep up, 'cause I can’t afford to keep lookin' back to make sure you’re still there. Remember, it's all just a power play”.

She nodded robotically and gulped hard.

He tightened up her jacket and adjusted her collar, “And don’t forget to look mean.” He smiled and kissed her lips softly.

Gwen stood next to Yondu and looked back at Peter one last time. He nodded a goodbye at her. She turned back around to face the door.

“You ready?” Yondu asked, one last time in a low voice….


	13. This Chapter Does Not Exist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this is just my brain exploring what might have happened if Gwen had decided not to go with Yondu. Maybe she dreamt it all as she waited for the hatch doors to open. Maybe it was The Doctor. Maybe it was The Flash (damnit Barry!) ... Anyway... we'll never know! Hope you enjoy this little side quest!
> 
> ******(Now that I think about it... there is a lot of meaning behind this chapter. My explanation, and the reason why it was cut, is in the end notes.)*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, there is a small bit of dominant/rough/angry sex near the end of this "chapter".

The hatch door opened. On the other side was a very long, brightly lit corridor. There were men running in every direction and the loud bustle of machinery was everywhere. A handful of men stood at the entrance.

One man, a smaller, skinnier man with a short Mohawk stood forward and nodded at Yondu. “Captain, good to have you back, sir.”

Yondu nodded back and moved quickly onto the ship. “Good to be back, Kraglin.”

Gwen’s feet froze. She couldn’t will herself to step onto the ship. She couldn’t even call out to Yondu. She was petrified.

Yondu stopped and looked back after realizing Gwen was not behind him. He gave her a curious glance as his head tilted ever so slightly to the side.

Gwen could only give her head a slight, quick shake. In essence telling Yondu, no, she wasn’t ready.

The air in Yondu’s lungs left him briefly. He stumbled backwards before quickly catching himself.

“Captain?” Kraglin asked, looking back at Yondu, “You alright?”

Yondu lowered his eyes at Gwen and gave her an angry stare before turning back around, waving Kraglin away from him. “Of course I’m alright you half-wit! Now get moving! We’ve got work to do!”

“Captain on the ship!” Kraglin yelled out before the hatch doors closed and left Gwen in silence.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

Gwen fell to the ground in a sobbing mess of tears. She couldn’t hold it back. Crying out loudly, she buried her face into the floor. 

Peter ran over and sat down on the floor next to her. He pulled her shoulders up and into his chest. He sat hugging her and rubbing her back, waiting for the tears to subside.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

Yondu went about his business making sure his ship was still running smoothly. Going over inventory and invoices, checking crew logs and dealing with those who were not too happy he was back (He didn’t mess around, they were immediately vented).

Once the day had finally come to a halt and he was left alone in his own room, Yondu couldn’t get the memory of Gwen’s betrayal out of his mind. The look on her face as she shook her head. She didn’t just reject his lifestyle, she rejected _him_. He grabbed a flask out of the cupboard and poured it quickly down his throat. The burn was not enough to mask the pain in his heart. Yondu jumped up yelling profanities as he threw his desk over. He began banging his fist against his chest angrily, over and over again. Walking over to his bed, he laid on his back, staring at the ceiling, still pounding his chest, until he eventually wore himself out and fell asleep. 

And that’s how Yondu fell asleep every night, for months.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

Six months later

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

“You can’t do this, Peter.” Gamora scolded.

“I have to. We need him.” Peter defended. He had called Yondu for help on another job. An action he did not take lightly. Surprisingly, Yondu agreed. He knew when Gwen found out, she would by hysterical.

Gamora chased after Peter as he walked out of his room. “You’re going to set her back months! All the work she’s done to get over him.”

“She’s going to have to deal with it sooner or later. Space may be a big place, but it’s not big enough for those two to ignore each other forever.” He pushed up his sleeves as he sat down at the cockpit and entered the coordinates for the rendezvous point.

Gamora fumed. “Fine, but you’re going to be the one to tell her. And soon.” She stormed off to the common room.

Peter grumbled. Saying he was standing by his decision was one thing. Having to look that woman in the eyes while telling her that Yondu would be back, was another.

Two hours. It took Peter two hours to pick her up off the floor after Yondu walked away. It took another week before she would even come out of her room. And it took another month before she would even smile. She still cried herself to sleep every night until Drax started filling the empty space in her bed. Peter knew there was no love between them. It was just a way for her to hold all the broken pieces together, and Drax was kind enough to oblige.

Peter had called a meeting in the common room. When Gwen walked in, she could see the tension on both his and Gamora’s faces. They were glancing over at her and whispering to each other. Had she done something wrong? She took a seat on the couch opposite them and waited. Gamora looked like she was getting angry with Peter.

“Um…” Peter started nervously, looking down at the floor. “Gwen, you don’t have to be here for this meeting. I can debrief you separately, afterwards.”

Gwen was very confused now. Feeling self-conscious and a bit embarrassed. “Why?” She asked defensively. “Am I not a full member of the team now?”

“Of course you are. But…”

“Then ‘but’ nothing. Get on with it.” Gwen leaned back and crossed her arms and legs.

“Is nobody gonna discuss the tension going on in this room right now?” Rocket demanded.

“I am Groot!” Groot nodded in agreement.

Gamora jabbed Peter in the side, “I _told_ you.” She whispered through gritted teeth.

“Enough of this. Let Peter speak.” Drax countered.

“Alright, alright, everyone settle down.” he raised his hand to calm everyone. Peter looked over at Gwen cautiously and let out a long, hard sigh. “We have a job with the Broker on Xandar.” He paused for a moment. Nobody spoke. “And we’re going to need reinforcements.”

Drax gasped, “Peter, you didn’t?” His voice full of shock.

“Ho-ly shit!” Replied Rocket.

Groot stood up and jabbed his branched finger at Peter’s chest angrily “I am Groot!”

“I _had_ to!” Peter shouted back.

Gwen stood up and whistled loudly to get control of the room. “What the hell is going on here?!” She had never seen the crew this angry at Peter before.

“ _Tell her_ Peter!” Gamora demanded.

Peter’s whole body seemed to deflate. He looked back at Gwen with apologetic eyes. “I called Yondu.”

“Wh… what?” Gwen wasn’t sure she understood what she heard.

Peter lowered his eyes back to the floor. “He’ll be here in 12 hours.”

Gwen froze. Her face was expressionless.

Drax walked up behind her and placed his hands on her arms, “Gwen… I”

Gwen shrank away and pushed his hands off of her, “Stay away from me.”

Peter tried to explain. “Gwen, I’m sorry I had…”

“Don’t!” She pointed her finger at him, angrily. “Don’t talk to me. All of you leave me alone.” Gwen stormed off to her room.

Everyone else slowly dispersed.

“Well this is going to be an interesting couple of days.” Rocket mumbled to Groot on their way out.

Drax slowly walked over to Peter. He stood over Peter with a stern look and pointed in his face. “ _You_ don’t have to listen to her weeping every night.” Drax walked off towards the crew quarters.

Peter got a sick feeling in his stomach. He had no idea she was still crying herself to sleep. He thought Drax was helping her move on. He now realized what a poor decision it was to call Yondu. But he couldn’t cancel now. He had already promised him a hefty paycheck.

Drax followed Gwen to her room. It had become his job to hold her while she sobbed. This time was no exception. He knocked on her door. “Guinevere, may I enter?” Silence came from the other side of the door for a long moment, until he finally heard a faint “Yes.” Drax opened the door to find Gwen in her usual position, face down on her bed. He walked over and sat down next to her and began rubbing her back. “I am so sorry” He let out a heavy sigh.

“Not your fault.” She mumbled into her pillow. She finally sat up to face him, her eyes red and her cheeks stained with tears.

Drax took her face into his hands. “I’m here for you, whatever you need.”

Gwen smiled and held his hand to her face, “I know” she whispered.

Drax leaned down to kiss her lips. Gwen wrapped her arms around his neck, hungering for that closeness she needed. She laid back on the bed, pulling him down on top of her. He climbed over her body, moving his hand to her stomach to unbutton her pants. Gwen took over and removed them herself, while Drax removed his own. He used his knees to spread her legs open and climbed back on top of her. He leaned in to kiss her neck as he slid himself into her. Gwen let out a slight moan.

Drax was always a good lover. He was gentle and attentive. Her feelings for Yondu never discouraged him from taking care of her. He knew he was only there to fill a need. Gwen often felt guilty for the way she used him. But the hole in her heart was so big that it paled in comparison.

Now Gwen could not get Yondu out of her head, even with Drax in her body. Yes, Drax was a good lover, but he wasn’t Yondu. He didn’t move like Yondu, he didn’t feel like Yondu, he didn’t smell like Yondu. He didn’t kiss her passionately or shudder at her touch. He didn’t look into her eyes with longing and desire. Drax… wasn’t… Yondu.

Gwen felt her heart break into a million pieces. She lost it and began sobbing through Drax’s kisses. Drax pulled away.

“Guinevere?” He looked down at her with concern.

Gwen pushed him away and sat at the edge of the bed, “I’m sorry, I just can’t do this. Not tonight. Please go.”

He placed his hand on her shoulder, “I understand.” He dressed and left the room quietly.

Gwen fell back into bed tucking herself up into the fetal position, crying loudly into her pillow. An hour later, she had finally cried herself to sleep.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

Yondu wasn’t sure why he had agreed to help Peter. Maybe he wanted to see her again, even though he knew it would only bring more pain. He wasn’t even sure if she was still on the ship with them. Peter didn’t mention, and Yondu didn’t ask.

Six more hours. He had six more hours to torture himself over whether or not he would see her again, and what he would do if he did. Would he beg her to come back to him? Would he want her to come back? Would _she_ even want him after all this time?

That last question left Yondu in a panicked state, knocking the wind out of him. He placed his hands on the wall and lowered his head, trying to catch his breath. Luckily he was in his own office and his only witness was his first mate, who was loyal to Yondu to a fault, so his usual power play stance was not necessary.

Kraglin ran over to him, “Captain? What’s wrong? You need me to get the medic?”

Yondu waved him back, shaking his head through his gasps. “I’ll be fine” he said in a raspy voice.

“You sure, Captain?” Kraglin didn’t look convinced.

Yondu nodded and placed his hands on his knees. “Yup, yup, it’s comin’ back now. I’m alright.” Yondu sat up and took a deep breath before shaking his head and punching his chest a few times. “You got that invoice filed and ready to send to Peter?” He asked Kraglin, changing the subject.

“Yes, sir. All ready. Just waiting to meet up with The Milano.” Kraglin knew something happened while Yondu spent those 2 months with Peter’s crew. He assumed it had something to do with that new female crew member he saw, but Kraglin never had the balls to ask, and Yondu never mentioned it. All he knew was that the captain was crankier than usual and he often caught him pounding on his chest, like he was trying to dislodge a bone from his windpipe. “Sir?” Kraglin decided to speak up this time “Sir, I’d like to go with you this time, if you don’t object. With the…” he gulped hard “With the issues you been havin’ lately, it wouldn’t be right havin’ you go alone.”

Yondu watched him skeptically. “You ain’t told none of the crew about my _issues_ , have you, Kraglin?”

“Of course not, sir!” Kraglin was offended at the accusation.

Yondu thought about this for a moment, and then nodded his approval. “Fine. You can come with.” Yondu got up in Kraglin’s face. “But you keep whatever… weird stuff… you see to you yourself. You understand me, boy?”

“Yes sir!”

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

The Milano had finally docked with The Eclector. Gwen had only thrown up once so far, but was sure it would happen again. Part of her wanted to just hide in her room until Yondu was gone, but part of her ached to see his face again. Even if that face would be screaming at her and telling her to go to hell. She dressed in her combat gear and headed out to the common room.

Gwen heard his booming voice before she saw him. Her heart leapt in her chest and she feared she would scream out in agony. But she held her tongue as she rounded the corner into the common room. And there he was. All six feet of him… six foot five if you counted his fin. She wanted to run to him, to wrap her arms around him and to cry into his chest, but just like the day he left, her feet were frozen to the ground. She let out a short and muffled yelp before she reigned her voice back in.

Yondu was smiling at Peter, discussing the job they would soon be undertaking, when he heard her and turned to see her standing not ten feet away from him. His smile disappeared and was briefly replaced with a look that Gwen couldn’t place. A gaze somewhere between yearning and betrayal. He quickly caught himself and swapped that face with his icy poker face. He cleared his throat “Guinevere” He nodded cordially.

Gwen nodded back “Yondu”. Her throat was burning and her heart was pounding. Every fiber of her being wanted to scream, but she had to hold herself together. It was then that Gwen noticed the man standing to Yondu’s right. It was the skinny man she had seen when Yondu left. The man was now taking in the spectacle that she and Yondu were trying not to make, but was painfully obvious. His eyes darted knowingly back and forth between them.

Peter clapped his hands together much louder than he had intended, “Okay! So, let’s talk about this later. Why don’t you two go get settled in while we disembark from The Eclector?”

You two? So the skinny guy was going with. Gwen made a mental note. She stood aside as the two men walked past her. Yondu held his gaze to her and she to him. Her eyes began to redden. He passed so close to her that she could have grabbed him as he walked by but she didn’t move. She was, however, able to smell him as the air wafted by. It was that same machine-oil-mixed-with-cologne smell she remembered. She shut her eyes tight, but the tears still silently flowed down her cheeks.

Yondu looked around the room as Kraglin unpacked the captain’s things. He took a long, hard look at the bed that he and Gwen shared so many times. Remembering how her skin felt, how her lips tasted, how her moans made him weak.

“Captain?” Kraglin exclaimed with alarm.

Yondu looked down and realized he was punching his chest again. “Oh hell” He snarled, irritated with himself. “That damn siren again”. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“Speak of the devil.” Yondu snorted.

“Sir?” Kraglin asked, confused.

Yondu took a deep breath, “Come in!” He bellowed.

Gwen walked in and stood in front of Yondu, staring into his eyes, not speaking a word. She didn’t even acknowledge the man with the Mohawk.

Yondu stared back into Gwen’s eyes. “Kraglin.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Get out.”

“Yes, sir!” Kraglin made a beeline for the door and shut it on his way out.

As soon as they were alone, Gwen jumped at Yondu. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately as the tears streamed down her face.

And for a moment, Yondu kissed her back. He pulled her into himself and breathed in her smell. He smoothed his hands through her hair and held her tight to his mouth. And for a moment, they were both whole again. Only for a moment.

Without warning, Yondu pulled away from Gwen and held her at arm’s length. He shook his head in frustration. “No, I can’t do this again. You left a jagged, gaping hole in my chest and I can’t have you diggin’ around in there again.” He let go of her and turned away. “I’m sorry Guinevere. You should probably go now.”

Gwen tried to hold her head up “I… I understand.” She whispered. She turned around and ran out of the room, past a very watchful Kraglin.

Yondu turned back around to make sure she had left. Kraglin walked back into the room without a word. Yondu shouted and threw the mattress across the room in a fit of rage. He stood staring out the window, pounding his chest, willing his heart to stop beating. Kraglin could only watch, helpless, as his captain fell apart in front of his eyes. He understood now. All of it. This siren, as Yondu had called her, had taken a piece of him that she couldn’t give back. He quietly put the bed back together and waited for Yondu to regain control.

Gwen ran straight to the only place she could think of to give her solace. Drax’s quarters. She opened the door without knocking and ran in, inadvertently leaving the door open behind her.

“Guinevere?” Drax was startled, but not surprised to see her. He put down the book that he had been reading and stood up to catch her. She fell into his arms in a tear-filled panic. Ripping off her jacket, she kissed him hard, with as much fervor and passion as she wished she could with Yondu. He kissed her back, holding her tight to his body. Drax matched her passion, tossing her onto his bed and then disrobing himself. He pulled off Gwen’s shirt and slid off her boots and pants.

Drax climbed on top of Gwen, sliding himself into her and thrusting harder than he ever had before. He kissed her mouth eagerly while grabbing a handful of her ass. For another moment, Gwen forgot herself. She let go of her mind and let her body take over. She would enjoy this ride while she was on it. She would deal with the consequences later. But consequences came sooner than expected.

Yondu and Kraglin were walking back to the common room as they passed Drax’s quarters. The door being left open, Yondu heard a commotion. He stopped to see Drax riding someone like his ass was on fire. He heard a girl moan and he froze.

“Gwen?!” Yondu yelled into the room.

Both Drax and Gwen stopped and turned to look at the very open door, with Yondu standing on the other side.

“Oh shit.” Kraglin muttered.

Yondu’s face turned purple and his fin lit up. He was too angry to whistle, so using his arrow was out. He roared loudly, charging into the room. He grabbed Drax’s shoulder and punched him in the face with a right hook, throwing him off of the bed and knocking him to the floor. Yondu went after him again, holding him down and punching at him repeatedly. Drax was able to block most of his punches, but not all of them.

“Yondu!” Gwen shouted, wrapping the bedsheet around herself. “Stop it!”

Yondu quickly remembered who he was really angry with. He got up and stuck a shaky finger in Gwen’s face. “How could you?!” He yelled at her.

“You left me!” She yelled back.

“You _betrayed_ me!” He spat furiously.

Gwen got up on her knees in the middle of the bed “I was scared!! You spent days telling me how everyone on that ship wanted to kill me!”

“Were you?” He asked in a mocking tone. “Were you _really_ scared? Or do you just fall out of love as easily as you fall in it?!” He gestured to Drax.

Gwen looked down at Drax, still sitting on the floor. “Drax??” She asked, confused. “I’m not in _love_ with Drax!”

Yondu stopped for a moment. “You’re not?” he huffed.

“No! You jackass!” She climbed off the bed, the sheet still wrapped around her. She got up in Yondu’s face, as much as she could with her small frame “As you would say, just a port in the storm.” She used her words as a curse.

He looked at her confused, and then back at Drax, “And you??” He demanded.

“I care for Guinevere, but I’m not in love with her.” He was testing the busted lip that was still bleeding into his hand.

Yondu stared at the floor as he tried to catch his breath. Finally, he looked up at Gwen and grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the room.

Gwen struggled to hold up the sheet while trying not to trip over it, “What are you doing??” Yondu didn’t answer, but she had a good hunch she knew where they were headed.

Yondu dragged Gwen into his room and threw her on his bed. He stared her down heatedly as he pulled his coat off and threw it to the floor. Gwen’s eyes grew wide with understanding. He took off his vest and walked to the end of the bed, still not taking his eyes off of her. He pulled off his boots and then his dress shirt and pants. He whipped the sheet off from around her and climbed on top of her. With his eyes still locked on hers, he reached down and shoved his already hard cock into her slit, still wet from her time with Drax. She grabbed his arms, arched her back and moaned loudly as her eyes fell back into her head.

“You are _mine_! Do you hear me, girl?!” He pumped harder as he yelled “Not Drax’s! Not Peter’s! Not anybody else’s! MINE!”

Gwen nodded willingly, her eyes still closed. “Yes, sir!” She panted in between thrusts.

“Say it again!” He shouted.

“Yes sir!” She repeated louder, coming hard and fast on his cock.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Gwen stood next to Yondu, staring wide eyed at the ship on the other side of the hatch. She gulped hard and looked back at Peter one last time. He nodded a goodbye at her. She turned back around to face the door.

“Are you ready?” Yondu asked, one last time in a low voice….

Gwen looked over at her Captain and smiled coyly, “Yes, sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember why this alternate reality was so important to me. First of all, it shows that even after such a short courtship, and then being away from each other for six months, they were both still hurting. It was meant to show that they were truly in love, and it wasn't just a fling. Also, Gwen's refusal to board the ship felt like a true betrayal to Yondu. His insecurities couldn't allow him to think that Gwen really cared for him. That he didn't deserve her in the first place, and she was better off without him. What he didn't realize was that Gwen just needed reassurance from him. A slight bit of coaxing and she would have easily gone with him. Lastly, seeing Gwen with another man left Yondu in an (obvious) state of jealousy. He realized that he was willing to fight for her and for their relationship. And even though it wasn't mentioned by the end of the chapter, it is implied (and I'm stating it now, of course) that they did in fact get back together and Gwen wound up going with Yondu to the Eclector anyway. Their journey forward, in this AU anyway, was just detoured by six months due to some serious miscommunication on both their parts. 
> 
> The reason I chose not to keep this chapter as part of the original story, however, is because it was too much out of character for Gwen to let her fear pull her and Yondu apart. She should have been strong enough by this point to face that fear head on. Otherwise, what kind of a mentor would that have made Yondu? I personally think that would have been considered a major failure.


	14. Movin' On Up

The hatch doors opened. There, waiting on the other side was a lanky man with big eyes and a messy Mohawk.

“Captain.” The man nodded to Yondu.

“Kraglin.” Yondu nodded back. He turned to Gwen and gestured for her to follow.

Gwen stepped off the ship and onto a long catwalk. It took a moment for her to realize that Peter was following her. She hadn’t expected that. She tried to pay attention to what Yondu and Kraglin were discussing but she was too awestruck. She looked up and saw more catwalks leading to more M-class ships.

“Hooooly shit.” Gwen mumbled under her breath.

“What’s wrong?” Yondu stopped and turned to Gwen, who was still turning her head this way and that to take it all in.

Gwen shook her head, mouth gaped open, “Nothing… just… this ship is huge! It’s like the size of the USS Enterprise.”

“The enterwhat?” Yondu raised an eyebrow.

“I know! Right?” Peter got excited at the reference. “He never understood why I always called him Captain Kirk.”

Both Gwen and Peter chuckled to themselves. Yondu gave them both a stern look and cleared his throat.

Gwen turned back to Yondu and put her hand on his arm. “Oh don’t worry, babe. Being compared to Captain Kirk is far from an insult.”

Yondu’s stern look continued as he pressed his lips into a thin line. He shifted his eyes in Kraglin’s direction. Gwen looked over at Kraglin and realized he was staring at Gwen with awkward confusion. Gwen quickly removed her hand from Yondu’s arm and cleared her throat. “Oh, right.”

Yondu went back to discussing business with his crew member as they hustled down the catwalk. Gwen and Peter gave each other knowing smirks and continued following in silence.

Gwen started noticing other crew members walking around. She wiped the smile from her face and replaced it with a strict scowl. She held her shoulders back and made sure to keep her eyes forward. She walked confidently and made sure she gave of a presence of assurance. She was, after all, the Captain’s girl and could afford to show no weakness.

By the time they had reached the main part of the ship, they were surrounded with crew members of all shapes, sizes and colors. Some even completely covered in fur, or had extra body parts. She noticed one person even had tentacles.

Yondu turned to say something to Kraglin in a voice too low for Gwen to hear. Kraglin nodded and walked away. Yondu walked back to address Gwen and Peter. “Gwen, Peter’s gonna give you a tour of the ship this afternoon while I attend to some ‘captain’ business. I’ll meet you both back in my quarters in a few hours?”

Gwen nodded in agreement, “Sounds good.” In fact it sounded better than good, she was relieved.

Yondu flashed a quick hint of a smile and winked at Gwen before giving her a short but firm kiss and then walking away. The fact that about half the crew stopped to stare did not go unnoticed to her. Gwen blushed.

Peter grinned and smacked Gwen on the back, “Let’s go newbie! Got lots to show you! For starters,” he held her shoulders and turned her around to face where they had just walked in from. He held his hands out to gesture to the entire room “ _This_ is the ship dock. This is where all of the M-class ships are housed when not in use. Here they are maintained and repaired.”

The room, if you could call it that, was enormous. There must have been about twenty ships. It occurred at that moment that they all looked similar to Peter’s, and Gwen was reminded that he had bought his ship from Yondu years ago when he split from the Ravagers. “This is amazing. Yondu doesn’t have a crew, he has an _army_.” Gwen felt a deep sense of admiration for Yondu. She beamed.

Peter crossed his arms and nodded “Now you know why I call on him for help so often.” Peter continued, looking out at the ships “In fact, they really came in handy that one time we stole an orb. Well, it wasn’t really an orb, but rather a stone. And this evil dude wanted to use it to destroy the entire galaxy. But then we…” He turned back around to look at Gwen, who he realized was now staring at him, bewildered and concerned “… buuut that’s a story for another time. Anyhow. Moving on!” He put his hand behind her back and led her down a hallway.

The next place Peter took her to was the cafeteria. It was larger than a high school cafeteria and looked an awful lot more like a prison cafeteria. The tables and chairs were metal, same as the walls and doors. There was an ossified green color covering most of them and a red rust color covering the rest. Gwen was not impressed and grew concerned about the quality of the food.

“This is where everyone eats.” Peter saw the look of disgust on Gwen’s face. “Oh, but you’ll probably be eating in Yondu’s quarters. He gets better food, being the captain and all, and it usually gets delivered to his room.”

Gwen breathed a short sigh of relief. “Thank goodness for small miracles.” She was only half joking.

 

Yondu was in his office having a meeting with his officers. They had already gone over inventory and dockets and had moved on to grievances.

“Sir,” Tullk started cautiously “This isn’t a grievance, and I mean no disrespect, but we have to ask. Who is the girl and why is she here?”

Yondu looked down at the table, “Next business.”

“Sir” Kraglin pushed further, “The men are gonna ask. We gotta tell em somethin.”

There was a muffled ruckus of agreement through the officers.

“Alright fine.” Yondu huffed, conceding defeat. He looked around at his men, attempting to test the mood of the room. “Her name is Gwen… and she’s my girl.”

Shock came over the men’s faces briefly.

“We’ll I’ll be” Gef said with a smirk “Well done, Captain!” He laughed and smacked Yondu on the back.

“Never thought I’d see the day you’d hitch yourself to a woman!” Another officer teased.

“We ain’t gonna have ta gussy up the place, are we?” Horuz laughed.

The men went back and forth between congratulations and jibes, laughing and joking until Yondu took back control of the room. He waved his hand in mock irritation, “Alright, alright, that’s enough. Gwen’s a tough girl. She’ll be able to hold her own, but I plan on callin’ a meeting later on to squash any ideas the crew might have about takin her on. Anybody that tries gets an arrow to the head, no exceptions. Savvy?”

The officers all nodded and mumbled in agreement.

“ _Now_ ”, Yondu leaned into the table. “Next business.”

“We need to discuss the actions of some of the crew while you were gone, sir.” Tullk began.

“What kinda actions?” Yondu listened carefully.

“Some o’ the boys was talkin’.” Horuz added, “Talkin’ like they wasn’t too happy ‘bout the way youz been runnin things.”

“Really?” Yondu raised an eyebrow. He looked down at the tablet in front of him, tapping his fingers on the desk. After a moment, he leaned far back in his chair, let out a deep sigh and smoothed his beard. “Well maybe we should have some of these boys up for a talkin to. See if we can’t settle this little disagreement.”

 

“So what do people actually do for fun around here?” Gwen asked Peter as they walked through another hallway.

Peter smiled and put up a finger “That is exactly where we’re going next.” He gestured for her to turn a corner, following behind her.

Gwen walked through the large doorway and gasped. They had passed through into a large arena that Peter called the rec room. There were tables and chairs all around, workout equipment, couches and even a small lonely bookshelf against the left side wall. But none of that was what caught Gwen’s attention. She had been taken aback by the colossal windows on the far wall. They had to be three stories high and almost as wide; three of them all lined together. “Wow!” she breathed in a whispered tone. She slowly walked towards the windows. “It’s like a giant Imax screen!”

“What’s an Imax screen?” Peter asked.

“Oh,” Gwen quickly realized he had probably never seen an Imax movie and didn’t want to be a downer by explaining what he had been missing out on. “Never mind, it’s nothing.” She waved it off. The room quickly grew quiet. Gwen turned to scan the area, becoming overtly aware that everyone had stopped to stare at her and Peter. Gwen tensed, unsure of how to react to the attention. She hated confrontation.

Peter lowered his head, but kept his eyes on the crowd. He cleared his throat, rather loudly. The men got the hint and went back to their previous activities, but kept their conversations to a low murmur.

Gwen knew they were all talking about her. Wondering who she was and why she was there. She wished Yondu would make some sort of announcement, or send out a memo or something, letting them all know in a not so subtle way that she was off limits. She surveyed the room and gulped.

“Sorry about that,” Peter said. “You’re going to be the talk of the ship for a few days at least.”

“I wish Yondu could do something about that.” Gwen grumbled.

“Oh he will. But it will still take a while to adjust. There aren’t usually any women on the ship, unless they’re transport or whor… I mean working girls.” Peter scratched the back of his neck.

Gwen continued to the windows, gazing out in amazement. She could see hundreds of thousands of stars, in all different sizes, brightness and colors. “I still can’t believe how beautiful it is out here. The stars over Earth don’t even compare.”

“I don’t even remember what they looked like.” Peter admitted.

Gwen studied the dancing lights, trying to memorize every flicker and twinkle. Just then she saw what looked like a faint shadow pass in front of a group of stars. She squinted her eyes and looked closer. “Wh… what is that?” She asked Peter in a low voice.

“Huh?” Peter stood next to her and peered in the general direction she was looking.

Gwen saw another shadow float behind the first… and then another. As she strained to see, she could make out what looked like… arms and legs. It hit her then, they were bodies. There were dead bodies floating outward, away from the ship. At least a half a dozen of them.

Gwen gave out a sharp gasp and jerked upright as the realization of what was occurring came to her. Her eyes widened and her heart began to pound.

“Don’t make a scene.” Peter warned under his breath. He casually looked around to see if anyone had noticed her change in disposition. “Yondu’s just cleanin house. It happens sometimes.”

“But… what could they all have done to deserve that?” Gwen asked in a whisper, still trying not to draw attention.

“That many? Vented all at once without a hearing? There’s only one reason… they were planning a mutiny.”

Gwen gulped again, now truly comprehending just how different Captain Udonta was from her Yondu.

Peter put his hand on Gwen’s shoulder to pull her away from the window. “Come on, still got more ground to cover.”

Gwen turned back around, facing the crew. She pushed her shoulders back, held her head high and her eyes forward. She refused to let the men see her be affected by death. It was something she was going to have to get used to real quick.

Peter showed Gwen the rest of the ship, including the showers, crew quarters and finally officer’s quarters. The officer’s district was much nicer. The walls and floors were cleaner and more brightly lit. They smelled better too.

Peter led Gwen to a room with a door larger than any other. He punched in a code and the door slid open. “And here we are. Yondu’s quarters.” He gestured for Gwen to go in ahead of him. She entered and smiled eagerly “Oh thank God!”.

Yondu’s room was the size of a large studio apartment. There was a well decorated king sized bed in the far right side of the room. Someone had already dropped off her and Yondu’s bags and set them at the foot of the bed. To the immediate right was a dark brown wooden table and four matching chairs. Against the wall was a five foot wide counter with cabinets underneath. Above that, a locking cabinet with glass doors filled with drinking glasses and a hefty assortment of bottles of alcohol. To her immediate left was an ornate wooden desk with papers stacked off to one side, and in the middle, a glass screen that looked like a cross between a tablet and a computer, against the wall next to the desk was a tall set of drawers that looked like a filing cabinet. Off to the far left, across from the bed, was a gorgeous brown leather couch. It was facing a wall, and against the wall was a tall wooden bookcase full of old leather-bound books in all different languages. On the floor in between the couch and bookshelf sat a long wooden coffee tablet with a glass inlet. Underneath the coffee tablet lay a beautifully woven five by nine area rug. The far wall was not a wall at all, but rather another large window that spanned the length and height of the room. The whole place was clean, spacious, comfortable and wonderfully decorated. She had no idea Yondu had a refined side to himself. A side, she guessed, he probably kept to himself as another power play move. Refined could also be considered weak.

On the right hand wall, in between the bed and the round table was a door that lead to the bathroom. Gwen bounded towards the bathroom with excitement. “A bathtub! Yes! A bathtub!”

Peter laughed, “Biggest bathtub on any ship. Yondu doesn’t mess around.”

He was right. It was gigantic, even by Terran home standards. It could easily pass for a hot tub. There was also a large metal decorative sink with a tall mirror overhead, a closed off toilet and a walk in closet on the other side that stored a sizeable wooden armoire and three almost empty clothing racks. Yondu had an awfully large amount of space for clothing considering he didn’t have much of a wardrobe.

Gwen came out of the bathroom and stood in the middle of the apartment with her hands on her hips. “Well, if I do have to hide out here most of the time, at least I’ll be comfortable!” She joked.

Peter walked over to the cabinets next to the table and pulled a bottle and two glasses from underneath the counter. “This is all Yondu’s personal stash. The top cabinet is locked with a code. I don’t know it, but I’m sure Yondu will give it to you. The stuff on the bottom is for anyone who’s allowed in the room. Not many people have access. Each person has their own code. Yondu will give you yours soon, too, but if you need it before then, mine is eight six seven five three.”

Gwen chuckled “Eight six seven five three? As in the song?” She started to giggle.

“Hey,” Peter defended himself lightheartedly “It’s only a 5 digit code, I had to improvise.” He walked over to the couch with the wine and glasses. He placed them on the table and patted the cushion next to him, inviting Gwen to sit down. “And now, we wait for Yondu.”

Gwen sat down next to Peter, angling slightly towards him, and took the glass he had filled for her. “I’m not sure I’m going to be comfortable with other people having access to the room, even if Yondu trusts them.” She took a sip. Her eyes lit up, “Wow that’s really good!”

Peter filled his own glass and sat back, “Maybe Yondu will revoke their access. It’s worth asking about.” He tried to take a sip but couldn’t control himself. He downed half the glass in one pull.

“Peter!” Gwen teased.

“I’m sorry, it’s good and I don’t get stuff like this very often.” He snickered. He looked back at the cabinet. “I might have to sneak a bottle for me and Gamora later.” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

“Go ahead. I’ll tell Yondu I told you to; a thank you for the tour this afternoon.” She nodded appreciatively.

“Yes!” Peter pumped his fist downward.

“And really, thank you for your help today.” Gwen grew sincere. “I really appreciate it. I don’t know how I would have gotten through it without you.”

Peter nodded slowly. “We’re all gonna miss you, you know? We really enjoyed having you with us the past few weeks.”

Gwen put her hand in Peter’s. “I’m gonna miss you guys too. You’ve all done so much for me, and I’ll never be able to repay you.” She looked out the window at the stars floating gracefully by. “This all still feels like a dream.”

Peter turned to look out the window with her. He grew sincere. “I don’t think you ever get used to it.”

The two sat quietly, staring out the window and sipping wine for a long while before Yondu finally walked in. Neither heard the door open and were still staring out the window when Yondu’s booming voice broke the silence.

“What in the hell are you two sad sacks starin out at?” He tried to act angry, but as soon as Gwen whipped around and he saw her excited smile, his fake frown turned into an ear to ear grin.

Gwen handed Peter her glass, which he quickly finished for her. She jumped up and ran to Yondu, leaping into his arms and wrapping her own around his neck.

Yondu held her tight, with his eyes closed, and breathed in the smell of her hair. “Did you miss me?” He teased.

Gwen lifted her head off his shoulder and looked up at the ceiling, pretending to think, “Hmm… maybe a _little_ bit.” She teased back.

Gwen kissed Yondu passionately. He took his right hand from her waist and grabbed a handful of ass, lifting her up onto her tiptoes. Gwen squealed happily.

Peter squeezed his eyes shut and made a disgusted face, waving his hands at both of them. “Alright, alright! Save it for the honeymoon! I don’t need to witness this!”

Yondu put Gwen down but still held her waist with one arm. “Ain’t nuthin’ you never done, boy.” He smirked at Peter.

“But you’re like my _dad_ , dude! It’s just gross.”

Gwen laughed. She enjoyed seeing this side of the boys. Playful and teasing. No business talk, no power plays, just the boys being themselves and having fun.

Yondu patted Gwen’s backside and then quickly walked over to the coffee table. He poured himself a glass of wine as he spoke. “We’re gonna head down to the rec room in a few minutes.” He tipped back the glass and downed it even faster than Peter had. “I’m gonna address the men and then Peter and his crew will be off on their way.” He walked back over to Gwen, putting his arm back around her waist. “We’ll come back here for dinner and the rest of the night will be ours.” He gave her another kiss.”

Gwen smiled “Hmmm… I think I like the sound of that last part.”

“Eww, eww, eww! I know too much! Can we just go?!” Peter headed towards the door.

Yondu nodded to Peter, “In a minute, boy.” He turned back to Gwen, placing her face in his hands. “Now remember, you’re tough as nails and don’t take no shit from nobody. Got that?”

Gwen nodded confidently “Got it. No shit.”

“You got this. You ready?” He looked into her eyes to make sure she wasn’t lying.

Gwen smiled nervously, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

 

Yondu lead both Gwen and Peter back to the rec room. It was completely full, wall to wall with Ravagers. The roar of the crowd was almost deafening. Gwen’s heart began to race, but she made sure her face didn’t show it. He led them around the side of the room to a platform that had been brought out earlier. Gwen could feel hundreds of pairs of eyes on her back. There were a handful of men standing on the platform, Gwen assumed all officers. The only one she recognized was Kraglin, one of the men that had met them at Peter's ship. They were a few paces back from the front.

Yondu turned back and spoke low and quickly to Gwen. “Stay back and to the left of me, opposite Kraglin. You know who that is, right?” Gwen nodded.

Yondu stood at the very front of the platform, wrapping his hands around the rail bar across the front, his steely eyes staring down the crowd in a predatory fashion. Gwen stood approximately a foot back from the Captain with as much distance between them as Kraglin had spared on his right. Peter stood back with the line of officers. She kept her eyes front, focusing on a spot on the wall at the other end of the room, her hands folded together behind her back. Without saying a word, Yondu raised his right hand and the room grew quiet. He waited a few moments more before speaking.

Yondu spoke slowly and loudly, “I want to make sure I have everyone’s undivided attention. The information I am about to give you could be a matter of life or death.” The room began to murmur. Yondu held up his hand again and once more the room settled. “We have a new crew member on board. And yes, she is a female.”

Now the room grew into a much louder ruckus. Yondu put his head down for a moment and huffed. When he lifted his head back up, a loud, screeching whistle escaped his lips. His arrow lit up and shot out into the air above his head, hovering, waiting for its next command. The crowd instantly went silent. Gwen couldn’t resist letting a slight smirk creep over the side of her face.

Yondu held up his left hand to gesture towards Gwen. “This is Guinevere. You can call her Guinevere, or you can call her Gwen. What you _can’t_ call her is girl, girlie, baby, bitch, sweetheart, darlin’, whore, or cunt.” Yondu folded his hands behind his back and paced back and forth across the platform, his arrow still hovering above him. “You may _not_ touch her without her permission. You will _not_ cause any harm to come to her physically or mentally. If you do, you _will_ die… either by her hand, or mine. If you are wondering exactly why I have concerned myself with this one little Terran, that would be because she is _my_ girl.”

A murmured wave of bewilderment flowed through the crowd. Yondu continued. “I understand that this is going to be an adjustment. But it’s my ship, and I make the rules. If you think at any point you can’t handle working with a woman, or are unable to keep your dick in your pants, you’re free to leave my ship at the next port. But if _anybody_ gets the notion to try to pull somethin’ on my girl at _any_ point, he will be met with a quick and timely demise. No hearing… no questions… only death.” Yondu turned back to face the crowd. “Have I made myself clear?”

A roar of “Sir, Yes sir” erupted from the room.

“Everyone who understands, and agrees to these terms is dismissed. Everyone else is welcome to stay and discuss the conditions with me and my arrow. Otherwise… ya’ll have a nice quiet evening.”

The crowd began to disperse in a low roar of chatter and laughter. For the most part it seemed like everyone got the message. However Gwen noted getting the stink eye from a couple of crew members as they filed out the doorway.

Yondu put his arrow away as the officers turned to each other to converse. Yondu placed his hand on Gwen’s back and turned her to officially meet his officers. “Boys, this here is Gwen. Gwen, these are my officers and most trusted associates.” He listed off each name as she shook their hands. “You already know Kraglin, he’s my second in command.”

Kraglin smiled, “Nice to officially meet you.”

Gwen smiled back at Kraglin as she shook his hand. For some reason she seemed to like him right off the bat. Maybe because of how well Yondu trusted him, or maybe Yondu trusted him because of his easygoing personality. Either way, she hoped she’d have a new friend on the ship soon.

Yondu went on “This here’s Tullk, Horuz, Gef, Marlon, Roark and Moab.”

Gwen gave a short and curt smile to each as she shook their hands. Some of the men, Tullk, Horuz and Gef, grinned slyly at Gwen, while Marlon, Roark and Moab didn’t seem phased by her presence.

Gef spoke up first, “It’s nice to meet the girl that actually got the old crab ass here to settle down.”

“Yeah,” Horuz teased “We was sure he was gonna die a lonely old bastard.”

“Don’t listen to them,” Tullk interrupted “The Captain’s a good man. You’re lucky to have him.” He smiled and nodded.

Gwen smiled back. She refused to speak unless asked a direct question. The ‘bad ass’ routine was only as good as her mouth would let it be. And she wasn’t very good at sounding tough yet. She’d have to work on learning some new curse words.

All of the officers hung back after the crew left, chatting and catching up. They were even excited to see Peter again and asked him about his adventures and his female. All Peter would fess up to was that it was ‘complicated’.

After about twenty minutes, Peter announced that it was time for him to head back to his ship and leave. Gwen wanted so badly to hug Peter, but knew it would be out of character in front of all these men. She and Peter gave each other a quick smile and a knowing nod, and then he was gone, heading down the corridor to the dock. She forced herself to hold back her tears, turning to Yondu instead, waiting for him to address her.

He wrapped his arm around her waist again and cautiously appraised her mood. “Hungry?”

“Starving, sir.” She let out as little air as possible from her tight lungs.


	15. Talkin' Bout My Girl

Yondu nodded and gestured for her to walk ahead of him. He followed her out to the corridor and then promptly slid into place beside her. Gwen quickly noticed that anytime they passed a random crew member, Yondu would, once again, strategically place his hand on her lower back. It seemed that every move he made in front of the men, every word he spoke and every twitch of a muscle in his face was all choreographed for the benefit of the crew in some way or another.

They walked the entire way in silence; down one corridor, turning to another, up a flight of stairs, another corridor. It was a long walk and Gwen had ample time to reflect. She remembered how quickly Peter was to shut Yondu down when he complained about bringing her onto the Milano, and how easily they spoke, almost like father and son when they were in a private setting. But even Peter fell in line without question when they were in the company of the Ravager crew, though he did let his guard down a bit when they were with the officers.

They had finally reached the officer’s quarters. Another turn, another crew member, hand to the back. Gwen knew Yondu was tough, and clever, and quick witted. What she hadn’t realized until today was exactly how cunning or how strong of a leader he really was. His entire presence commanded respect. And those that didn’t fall in line received swift and unforgiving justice.

One final turn. Gwen used the remaining silence to evaluate her feelings for Yondu. She knew how very deeply she cared for him. She also knew there was a part of her that feared him. But today, she felt both a sense of pride and astonishment. The strongest man she had ever met wanted her to stand by his side; and he believed, without a doubt, that she was strong enough to do it.

 

A wave of emotion flooded over Gwen. Her face flushed and her heart raced. Yondu led Gwen through the door and she let out a heavy breath as they entered the room. As soon as the door was shut, Gwen spun around. She grabbed Yondu’s lapel and pulled him into her, kissing him feverishly, over and over again. Yondu chuckled in between kisses, wrapping his arms around her. She let go of his coat and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his lips, his cheek, his jaw, wherever her lips could reach.

Yondu let out a heavy laugh, “Gwen, Gwen” He tried to get her attention but she wouldn’t stop. “Easy, easy now” he snickered, amused by her exuberance “What’s gotten into you, girl?”

She kissed his lips again, “I love you.” She said it so straightforwardly, in between kisses, not waiting for or caring for a response. “I love you” another kiss, “I love you” another kiss “and you’re all mine!” She kissed him again and this time held it tight, as if she was savoring the moment.

Yondu grinned mischievously and picked Gwen up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Gwen squealed with excitement. He walked her over to the bed and laid her down, leaning over her, kissing her soft lips, running his hands up and down her body. He pulled away for a moment, and looking deep into her eyes he said “I may not always say it, but you’ll always no how much I love you.”

She smiled proudly “Oh trust me, I do know.” She kissed him again and attempted to relieve him of his jacket.

Yondu stopped her and stood up, smiling “I’m just as eager to get to the foreplay as you are, but how bout we deal with one hunger at a time?” He stepped to the side and gestured to the round table behind him.

Gwen looked past him and saw the lavishly prepared meal waiting for them on the table. There were two plates set out with glasses and a bottle of champagne on ice. Someone had even lit a candle that was set in the middle. “Woooow!” Gwen’s face beamed as she sat up staring at the feast. It was only then that the sweet smell of meat and vegetables registered in her brain. She laughed, “How the hell did I miss that?” She stood up and walked over to the table. She unzipped her jacket. Yondu helped her out of it and took it.  

Yondu smirked. “Well, it did seem that your mind was a bit preoccupied.” He shrugged off his own jacket and, sitting down beside Gwen, tossed them both onto the chair next to him.

She gave him a seductive glance. “And we’ll be getting back to that later” she teased.

He grinned playfully “Yes ma’am.”

Gwen took a bite of the roast on her plate, “This is amazing. Where did all of this food come from?”

Yondu swallowed his bite and wiped his beard with his napkin “We’ve got a decent supply food in the kitchen. The grunts get the lower quality stuff, stews, mashed potatoes, gruel, and the like. The officers get the higher class cut meats and veggies; and me… well… let’s just say it’s good to be king.” He grinned.

Gwen was just about to ask when it was brought in, but then remembered what Peter had said about the access codes to his room. She was trying to decide how to bring up the conversation gently, without offending Yondu. She was brand new on the ship and this wasn’t even her room, after all, so the idea of her asking him to start changing rules for her made her nervous. But she also needed to make sure she would be safe.

Yondu saw her brow furrow and the concern that grew on her face. “What’s wrong?” He asked her casually, taking another bite.

“Well,” she started, then took a sip of champagne “It’s just that, Peter told me about the access codes to your room, and that some people have their own codes.”

“Oh” Yondu put his fork down.

Gwen put her hand on his, “I understand that you trust these people, and I do trust your judgement…”

“…But you don’t know them, so you can’t trust them yet?” He finished for her.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it.” She smiled sheepishly. “The idea that someone I don’t really know could just walk right in while I’m here by myself…”

Yondu put up his hand to stop her, “Say no more. I’ll have them revoked by tomorrow morning. We can always reassess sometime down the road.”

“Thank you” she sighed. “I know it’s an inconvenience to you and I don’t take that lightly.”

He patted her hand in return “I don’t take your safety lightly either. That reminds me,” he stood up and walked over to the desk. He sat down and touched the glass monitor. It lit up and he began pressing buttons. “We need to get you your own access code. I can assign you one or you can pick one yourself.” He looked up at Gwen. She was still sitting at the table but had turned to watch him. “What would you like?”

She gave him an awkward smile and walked over, “Actually, I was wondering if it was possible to use Peter’s access code.”

Yondu looked up, confused “Why?”

“Because it’s a funny reference and it’s easy for me to remember.”

Now Yondu was curious, “Well what is it?”

“Eight six seven five three.”

He repeated it in his head then looked back up at her. “I don’t get it.”

Gwen chuckled “It’s part of a song about a guy who gets the phone number of a girl he likes off of a bathroom wall. The phone number is eight six seven five three oh nine.”

Yondu shook his head, still confused “Must be another Terran thing” He teased. “Okay then,” he punched a few more buttons into the tablet and then sat up. “It’s done, let’s go out and make sure it works.”

He took her out and had her punch the numbers in. Yondu snorted and shook his head when he heard her humming a tune as she typed. The keypad lit up green and the door slid open. 

They returned to the table where they ate, and they drank, and they talked, and they laughed, enjoying time alone they had been waiting for all day. When Gwen had had her fill, she stared longingly into Yondu’s eyes. After a moment, she leaned over and gave him a slow, passionate kiss. Then she stood up and wandered back to the bed. She turned around and laid down, propping herself up with her elbows. Bending her right leg up, she hooked her boot on the edge of the bed. She gave her lover a come-hither look.

Yondu sat at the table, leaning back and admiring Gwen. He took one last sip of his wine and took a deep breath. He stood up and strolled over to the bed, pulling off his vest and tossing it to the floor.

Gwen smiled and laid her head back on the bed as the giant of a man climbed on top of her. He kissed her lips, and then down her neck. He sat up and slipped off her shirt and then unhooked her lacey pink bra. Gwen took the opportunity to kick off her boots and slid herself up to the head of the bed, laying her head on the pillows. Yondu stood back up beside the bed and pulled his own boots off and then his shirt. His hands were on his pants, seconds from unbuttoning them, when they both heard the bedroom door slide open.

Gwen panicked and grabbed a pillow to cover herself. Both of them turned to see who was coming through the door. It was a man, dressed in a kitchen uniform with a metal cart. His head was still down as he pushed the cart into the room and headed to the table.

Yondu cleared his throat with mild irritation. The worker quickly looked up, shocked. He mumbled something to the effect of “Oh shit” before standing up straight and muttering out “I’m so sorry, sir!” He looked back and forth between the table and the door, unsure whether to hurry up and clear the table or run out before he got an arrow to the head.

“It’s fine,” Yondu nodded “Leave the cart, I’ll set it out in the hall later.” He waved the kitchen worker off.

“Yes sir!” The man ducked back out the door which slid shut behind him.

Yondu turned back to Gwen to asses her mood, sure she would either be frightened or angry. She was still frozen with the pillow clutched to her chest, and her eyes were wide with shock. Yondu started to apologize, but before he could get a word out, Gwen broke out in a roaring laughter.

Relief washed over Yondu’s face as he joined in. Forgetting his pants, he climbed onto the bed beside her and wrapped her into his arms. “I think we’ll take care of those access codes tonight before bed.” He chuckled.

Gwen wrapped an arm and a leg around Yondu and began kissing his chest. She may have been detoured for a moment, but she wasn’t deterred. She quickly climbed up and straddled Yondu’s hips. She leaned forward, kissing and licking his neck. She reached down to his pants and grabbed a handful, massaging him through his clothes. He rubbed her back and her arms, enjoying the sensation her body, and her hands, gave him. He moaned softly and his cock grew harder. As Gwen sat up to unbutton Yondu’s pants, he grabbed a hold of her ass and grinded her hips against his, growling hungrily.

Gwen giggled, “I’m working on it, baby.” She felt herself becoming increasingly wet and her lady parts began to ache for him. Once she got Yondu’s pants unbuttoned, she climbed off of him and the bed and impatiently ripped his pants off of his legs. The blue man was naked and his cock stood tall at attention. He gave Gwen a lustful stare as he grabbed his dick to massage it. She stood in front of him with bare breasts and slowly, teasingly, unbuttoned her pants, revealing a hint of her silk pink panties underneath.

“Fuck” Yondu breathed between strokes. Gwen turned sideways, still keeping eye contact, and bent forward slowly as she slid her pants off of her ass. Yondu imagined ripping her panties off with his teeth, but Gwen had other intentions. After pulling her pants off, she turned away from him, giving him a perfect view of her ass. She watched him over her shoulder as she hooked her thumbs into her panties. She slid them off slowly as she bent down. “You better get over here, girl.” Yondu warned. “My cock is hurtin’ for that pussy somethin’ fierce.”

Gwen turned around and climbed up on the bed like a tiger stalking its prey. Yond was ready for her to climb on top of him, but she didn’t. She stopped when her head reached his cock, and she grinned devilishly.

“Oh!” Was all Yondu could say. Gwen licked the underside of his shaft from the base to the tip, and then swirled her tongue around the head before popping it in her mouth. Yondu moaned. His head fell back onto the pillow, his fin just missing the headboard. “Ooor this!  We can do this!” He reached down and held Gwen’s head in his hands, moving her hair to the side and then stroking her face. He was too big to completely fit in her mouth, but she could get his head in and play with it with her tongue. She stroked his shaft with one hand while rubbing his stomach with the other. The fact that Gwen’s mouth was currently around his cock was a delight, but Yondu couldn’t stop staring at her ass, which was angled high up in the air being completely neglected.

“Baby” Yondu whispered to Gwen. She opened her eyes and saw him gesture to her to come up to him.

She lifted her head up, confused. “Did I do something wrong?”

Yondu smiled “Oh god no, baby. Not at _all_! But your pussy is callin’ to me and I need it, _now_.”

Gwen giggled and climbed on top of him. He grabbed her hip with his left hand, but before she could slide herself down on him, Yondu reached down with his right hand to massage her clit. She moaned and shuttered. She was dripping wet. Yondu grinned as he slid his middle finger inside her. She moaned again. Her knees went weak and she almost dropped down on his cock. He slid his fingers out and held his shaft still.

“That’s right baby, it’s waiting for you.” Gwen slid herself gingerly down onto him. Her body squeezed his member tight and she moaned with pleasure. She rode him, her hands on his chest to steady herself, while he played with her clit. Waves of pleasure washed over her again and again, increasing in intensity until she couldn’t take it anymore. She arched forward and moaned loudly as her orgasm hit her shuddering through her whole body like an electric current. Her slit pulsed over Yondu’s cock, demanding that he cum too, but he gritted his teeth and held back. He caressed her face in his hands watching the gratification play on her expression. He smiled “That’s it baby, that’s it.”

Gwen’s whole body gave out a final shudder and she collapsed onto Yondu’s chest, breathing heavily. Yondu held her and smoothed her hair, waiting for her to catch her breath. Gwen laid still, listening to his heartbeat. It was a strange sound, much different from a human’s, but it was still rhythmic and comforting. After a few moments, Yondu gave an experimental thrust to see how Gwen would react. She giggled and rocked back and forth on top of him. He smiled and flipped her over onto her back. “Now it’s my turn.”

Gwen hooked her legs around Yondu’s hips. She grabbed his biceps and held tight as he drove into her, again and again, the yearning in her body rising up again.

“Stop, stop” she breathed. She pushed him back. He sat up, resting on his legs.

“What’s wrong?” He ask, panting hard, just as confused as she was before.

“Not a damn thing.” She got up on her knees and turned around. She wiggled her feet in between his legs and sat back in his lap.

“Oh!” He said, excitedly. He spread his knees and leaned back a little, making more room for her. She eased his cock back inside herself. She moaned and shook before sitting up and leaning back into Yondu, grabbing his hips to steady herself. He wrapped his left arm around her and grabbed her breast, playing with her nipple. Then he reached down and slid his right hand between her legs, gently massaging her clit once again. Gwen tilted her head back onto Yondu’s shoulder, he kissed, licked and sucked on her neck, wanting so badly to bite her, but too afraid he would hurt her. The two swayed together, thrusting up and down, working each other into a frenzy.

Gwen’s thighs began to quiver again. Her moans turned to whimpers. She grabbed tight to Yondu’s thighs, not realizing she was digging her nails into him. The pain delighted him and he let out an unintentional groan. That set Gwen over the edge. A carnal growl escaped her throat as she clamped down on his cock. Another loud groan rose up from Yondu as he came inside Gwen. He held her tight as he pulled her down onto himself again and again, pumping every last drop of cum from his dick.

Yondu finally let Gwen go when her body released his cock. She slid down off of him and fell face down onto the bed. Yondu collapsed next to her. Turning over onto his side, he propped his head up with his right arm and rubbed Gwen’s back with the other. He leaned forward to gently kiss her shoulder.

Gwen turned to face him, grinning ear to ear. “That was _delicious_.” She rolled over onto her back and stretched her whole body, leaving her arms resting above her head. The masterpiece that was Gwen’s body was laying in full view, on Yondu’s bed, for him and him only. He brushed his hand over her breasts, then her stomach, and down to her thighs. Her head was turned toward his, her eyes closed, a smile plastered onto her lips. Her feet were crossed and her toes pointed. 

“How did I get so lucky?” Yondu whispered into the air. “God… you are so fucking beautiful.”

Gwen giggled and turned towards him, wrapping her leg around his hip and her arm around his waist. “Are you gunning for round two already, Sir?” She kissed his chest softly.

Yondu chuckled. “I dunno, you wore me out pretty good, and” he looked down at his penis “I’m not sure there’s anything left in that ol’ digger anyhow.”

Gwen choked back a laugh and said with a crappy Scottish accent, “You mean you’ve given her all ya’ got, Captain?” Gwen busted up laughing hysterically at her own dumb joke.

Yondu just chuckled and shook his head, “I’m just gonna assume that’s another one o’ them Terran things.” He kissed her one more time before getting up and heading to the bathroom.

Gwen yelled after him “One of these days we _really_ need to watch Star Trek together! It would all make so much more sense! Captain Kirk, The Enterprise, Scotty… you’ll laugh your ass off!”

When she stopped shouting, she heard water running in the bathroom. Yondu popped his head through the doorway, “Are you gettin’ in this tub or not?”

Gwen smiled widely, jumped up and followed after him.


	16. These Boots Are Made for Walkin'

Gwen had spent the past two weeks learning the layout of the ship. She didn’t have much reason to visit most of it, but wanted to make sure she had it memorized in case the need arose. The layout was fairly simple. She knew whatever floor she was on, there would be a set of staircases at both the bow and stern, and one set in the middle, closer to the front, near the crew quarters. Most of the back of the ship made up the M-class ship dock, with the engine room underneath. The very front, top was the ship deck. Yondu’s quarters were right underneath that.

At Yondu’s behest, Gwen followed him almost everywhere he went. He wanted to make sure she had a feel for the inner workings of the ship, the jobs people did, and how his day usually played out. He even had her sit with him at the cockpit. She was starting to learn the lingo, and what exactly it was that the captain did to earn the money that kept his empire running. Essentially, if it earned them money, they did it. There wasn’t much he would say no to. Transporting suspicious cargo, collecting on bounties, hunting down stolen items for rewards… if it paid, they’d do it. There were only two jobs Yondu refused; anything having to do with the transport or capture slaves or children. No exceptions. 

There was only one place Gwen was not allowed to go, and that was in Yondu’s office during officer’s meetings. She was not an officer and was not privy to the discussions that took place. It was no matter to Gwen. The only thing she didn’t like was being left alone with a wary eyed crew. Most of them paid no mind to her, except a handful that gave her the stink eye when she walked by. But she went nowhere without her blaster and her dagger. All it took was her hand on her blaster and a steely eyed stare for them to back down... usually.

 

Sometimes the officer’s meetings took only a few minutes, but sometimes they took hours. She would often hang out either on deck, in Yondu’s quarters, or in the rec room waiting for Yondu. During this particular meeting, Gwen decided to go read in the rec room. The selection there was tiny compared to Yondu’s, but she couldn’t read most of the books in his room. Yondu had been gone a while. She was sitting on the couch and was about 30 pages into a centaurian novel about a warrior prince sent on a quest to save his tribe when she felt someone grab the back of her jacket collar. She was ripped up off the couch and thrown back into the air. She landed hard on her back, the wind having been knocked out of her. She coughed and looked around dazedly waiting for the room to stop spinning. She tried to piece together what had just happened. She quickly realized she was being surrounded by men. Some of the men were wide eyed with shock, some were smirking, and one large hairy man walked up from where she had just been sitting, with a grin on his face. He was an ugly mug, with a ponytail down his back and scars all over his face, Gwen likened him to a more gruesome version of a Klingon, though to be honest, that was an insult even to Klingons.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! Not so tough now, are you, little girl?” The ugly brute mocked.

Realization of what happened finally hit. Gwen flipped over her shoulder and quickly jumped to her feet. She reached down to grab her gun, but discovered it missing. It must have fallen to the ground when she was thrown. She looked around, but unable to find it, pulled out her dagger instead and crouched down waiting for him to come at her again.

“You think you stand a chance against _me_?” He laughed again, sauntering towards her.

Gwen smirked, “I dunno _Gollum_ , let’s find out.”

He ran at her, but right before he caught her, Gwen ducked down. Swinging her leg out, she caught his ankles and he dropped to the ground, face first, like a sack of bricks. She tried to jump on him, but he flipped over and caught her. He squeezed her wrists until she had no choice but to drop the knife. It landed next to Gollum’s head. Gwen quickly knocked it away with her foot. If she couldn’t use it, neither would he.

Gollum yelled and threw her into the air again. She landed a few feet away, on her back.

“Gwen!” A random crew member yelled out and she looked to her right, in his direction. She just caught sight of someone kicking her blaster towards her. Gollum jumped up and tried to run after her before she could get the gun. Gwen was faster. She picked up the gun and, still lying on her back, aimed it at Gollum’s face. Before she could fire, she heard a loud whistle. A bright read streak shot through the air and straight into Gollum’s temple. The man’s dead body fell to the ground, landing on Gwen’s legs.

Surprise and confusion fell over Gwen's face. She looked towards the direction the arrow came from and found Yondu and his officers walking towards her. Gwen quickly jumped up, holstering her blaster. The room was silent. Yondu’s face had a flush of red underneath his blue skin, making him look almost purple. 

“Anyone else wanna try and fuck with my woman?!” He yelled out angrily. He was met with continued silence. “That’s what I thought! Now all a ya’ll get the hell outta here til we get this mess cleaned up!” He waved his hand in the air to dismiss the crowd.

Gwen stared down Yondu furiously.

“Um… Miss Gwen?” A crew member walked up to Gwen. It was the same man as before, who had kicked her gun to her. This time, he had her knife in his hand. He handed it to her and nodded respectfully.

“Thank you.” She nodded back and he walked away.

Yondu walked over to Gwen as the officers instructed maintenance to clean up and dispose of the body. He could see that she was angry. “My quarters, now. Let’s go.” He gestured for her to lead.

Gwen stormed out of the rec room. When they reached the apartment, Gwen let him have it. “Why did you do that?! I had it under control! I could have taken him out and I _should_ have! You’re the one always telling me I need to be able to defend myself! I had the opportunity and you ripped it away!”

Yondu just stood there with his arms crossed listening to her rant. “You done yet?” He said patiently.

Gwen thought for a moment. “Yeah.” She said with an irritated tone.

“Good, now it’s my turn.” Yondu turned the tables on her. “I told you that you needed to be able to defend yourself. And you can, and you did. But you need to understand somethin'.” He walked up closer to her and stared her in the eyes. “If you kill one, they’ll see it as a challenge. They’ll keep comin' at you and comin' at you. You’ll have to kill another and another and another. The next dick head who thinks he’s better than the last will try and take you on, and it won’t end until they’re all dead, or they’ve finally killed you.”

Gwen was still confused. “So what’s the difference if you kill them?”

Yondu looked her square in the eyes. “They won’t challenge me.”

Gwen couldn’t argue with that. She huffed and dropped her shoulders. Her anger had deflated. “I guess you’ve got a point.”

“Not to mention” Yondu held Gwen’s face in his hands “Killin' somebody takes its toll on your soul. I know it’s comin' someday, but if I can put it off even for one more day, I’ll do it.” He kissed her forhead.

“I guess I should be thanking you then, huh?” Gwen teased, still a bit irritated.

Yondu smiled and walked over to the liquor cabinet. He pulled out a flask and two shot glasses. “I gotta admit though, watchin you kick his ass was a sight!”

“Wait, you were _watching_?” Gwen was mixed with both confusion and amusement.

“Little bit.” He poured the drinks and gave one to Gwen. “I saw you jump up off the ground like a bad ass with death in your eyes.” Yondu spoke proudly.

“So why didn’t you just stop the fight then?”

“Cause,” Yondu knocked back the shot “I wanted the boys to see what you were capable of.”

Gwen smiled and rolled her eyes before tipping back her shot.

Yondu took both glasses and set them down. “Now,” He took Gwen’s jacket off of her and slowly spun her around "let's take a look here."

“What are you doin?” she asked curiously.

He started to feel around her back and her shoulders. “How are you feelin? Any broken bones? Anything out of place.”

Gwen looked at her wrists and rotated her shoulders, turning her head left and then right. “No, I think I’m okay. Just a little sore.”

“Well, you’re probably gonna be even worse tomorrow. I’ll head down to the medbay and get you something. Go draw yourself a bath and I’ll be back in a bit.”

He gave her another kiss and then was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all I have so far. I plan to add more. Thinking of updating once a week. If you've read this far, let me know what you think. Thanks for playing!


	17. Friends In Low Places

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI... I hated writing this chapter. So if it sucks, that's probably why.

A week had passed since Gwen’s beating from Gollum. Everything had pretty much gone back to normal. Yondu and his team were headed to a nearby planet to turn over an escaped prisoner. But Yondu was still treating Gwen like a newbie and refused to let her tag along.

“I don’t understand why you won’t let me come with.” She was growing irritated with Yondu. She pulled her jet black hair up into a ponytail and winced when she felt the ache in her shoulders.

Yondu pointed at her “ _That’s_ one reason.” He picked his vest up off the bed and put it on. “Plus this planet ain’t exactly civil. I don’t expect things to go smoothly.”

“And you think I’m safe on the ship by myself?” She put on her jacket and zipped it up “I’m just as likely to get into a fight up here as I am down there.”

“I know, that’s why Kraglin is stayin here with you.” Yondu had been expecting that argument.

Gwen scoffed, “You’re seriously leaving your first mate here to _babysit_ me? How does he feel about that?”

Yondu was tired of going round and round with her. He gave an irritated sigh, “I don’t _care_ what he thinks about it. It is what it is and that’s final.”

Gwen growled in frustration, “Fine. But I swear, Yondu, I am going to lose it in this place. If I don’t get to see sunlight soon, you are gonna have one crazy ass white girl on your hands.”

Yondu turned to her and held her shoulders, comfortingly “I know, I know. And I promise, the next planet we land on, we’ll get out and have some fun. Okay?” He kissed her forehead and headed out. Gwen followed behind.

 

Kraglin, Tullk and Moab met Yondu and Gwen at the ship dock along with two grunts who had the prisoner in cuffs, each holding onto an arm. He was a younger looking man with pink skin and green hair.

“We ready to go?” Yondu asked Tullk.

Tullk nodded. “All set, sir.”

The men were about to head out when the prisoner smirked at Gwen “Awe, you guys brought me my last meal? And here I thought you didn’t care. Tell me, baby, you want an audience or should we take this to the bedroom?”

Yondu gritted his teeth and was about to cold cock the kid in the face, but Gwen stopped him.

Gwen gave the prisoner a smile as she sauntered over to him. She put her hands up to his face and started playing with his earlobes. Yondu watched her quizzically. She then grabbed him by the shoulders and swiftly kneed him right in the junk.

He gave out a loud cry and fell to his knees. He would have fallen further if the grunts hadn’t held him up by his arms.

Yondu looked down at the prisoner and shook his head with a chuckle. “Hurts like a bitch, don’t it?” Yondu waved his hand and the grunts dragged the prisoner off to the m-ship. He gave a nod to Kraglin and then kissed Gwen goodbye. They were loaded and headed down to the planet within minutes.

 

A nervous Kraglin watchfully eyed Gwen as she huffed and stomped her foot in frustration. Annoyed Gwen put her hands on her hips “Well what the hell do you do for fun around here?”

Kraglin chuckled, but didn’t say anything. Gwen stood there staring at him, waiting for a response. Kraglin’s face turned from amusement to confusion, “Oh, you're talking to me?”

Gwen laughed, “Yes! You. Hanging out in Yondu’s quarters is getting rather boring.”

"Oh," Kraglin thought for a moment, “Well, okay. Come on, I’ll show ya.”

 

Gwen assumed Kraglin would take her to the rec room, but he didn’t. She, in fact, grew nervous when he led her down below the m-ship dock, to the engine room. They turned corners and ducked under pipes. Gwen had no idea where they were headed. “You’re not planning on killing me and hiding my body down here, are you?” She joked.

Kraglin scoffed, “Not as long as you don’t plan the same for me.”

Gwen chuckled, “Are you kidding? Besides Yondu, you’re the closest thing I have to a friend around here.”

Kraglin stopped, surprised at her words, “Really?”

Gwen smiled, “Yeah, really.”

Kraglin thought for a moment and then nodded, smiling. “Cool.”

They turned one last corner before Gwen was met with a small dimly lit room. There was a round table with 4 chairs in the middle of the sparsely furnished room. Three of the chairs were occupied by crew members that looked like they hadn’t seen the light of day in years. They were dirty and grimey, wearing yellow jumpers smeared with engine grease. On the table sat, what Gwen assumed was a stack of playing cards.

All three men turned to see who entered the room. Shock fell over their faces as they saw Gwen, the Captain’s girl.

One of the men, a tall muscly man with a bald head dropped his drink on the table. “Kraglin? I thought you weren’t playin’ today?”

Another large burly man with a long beard and curly gray hair chided Kraglin, “What the hell you doin’ bringin’ her down here? This ain’t no place for a lady.”

Kraglin raised his hands and dropped them, “She’s getting’ bored. Boss won’t let her off the ship yet.”

The third man, a short and skinny younger man, quickly stood up and took off his hat. His brown hair was long and messy. He gave a slight bow to Gwen. “Miss Gwen, it’s good to see you again, ma’am.”

Gwen looked at him peculiarly, “I know you, don’t I? You’re the one that gave my gun and dagger back to me, aren’t you?”

The small man smiled and nodded, “Yes ma’am.”

Gwen smiled back, “Well, thank you again for that. You probably saved my life.”

“Awe,” he blushed and waved his hand “I’m sure you’d a’ done just fine without ‘em.”

Kraglin interrupted the conversation, “Gwen, this here’s Obo, Eugene and I guess you already know Merle. Guys, you all know Gwen.”

Obo stood up and offered Gwen his chair. “Here, have a seat, I’ll go get another chair.” He walked off to the supply closet in the next room and grabbed another folding chair.

“Thanks.” She smiled as she sat down. Gwen couldn’t help but notice how similarly Obo was built like Drax, except of course he wasn’t grey or covered in intricate red markings.

Kraglin took the empty seat next to her and Obo sat between her and Eugene, the older gentleman.

“So what brings you down here, miss?” Eugene asked.

“It looks like I’m here to learn how to play cards.” Gwen looked at Kraglin who smiled and nodded back.

“Well alright then.” Eugene grinned and picked up the deck off the table. “Let’s get this game started.”

 

The boys attempted to teach Gwen the game they had been playing, but seeing as she couldn’t read the cards, it was difficult. She did figure out which symbols were the coveted cards and which ones she was supposed to get rid of, but it was all still very confusing. She didn’t care. She was having fun. For the first time in weeks she was laughing and smiling and able to be herself. Kraglin liked this side of Gwen and could now see what it was that Yondu saw in her. She wasn’t just a hard ass with a pretty face. She was kind and funny and clever. She practically lit up the dark and dreary room and the boys smiled and laughed harder than they had in a long time.

The night ended and Gwen begged Kraglin to bring her back next week to play again. Not only did the boys not object, they decided that she would have a permanent spot at the table if she wanted it. And Gwen was glad to have some new friends.

Kraglin took Gwen to the cafeteria to get food before they headed back to Yondu’s quarters. He noticed quite quickly that she was back to her stiff, impersonal demeanor as soon as they were within eyesight of other crew members. Kraglin felt bad for her, being stuck here in a place where she felt like she couldn’t be herself most of the time. He understood why that dark little room with those men meant so much to her.

 

“Well, good night.” Kraglin said to her when they reached Yondu’s quarters.

“You’re not coming in?” Gwen asked, standing in the doorway, holding her tray of food.

“Oh,” Kraglin turned back “I didn’t know you wanted me to.”

“Sure,” she gestured with a nod “I could use the company.”

They set their trays down and started eating. The room was quiet for a long time before Kraglin finally spoke up.

“Captain told ya to keep a straight face, didn’t he?”

Gwen raised and lowered her eyebrows knowingly. She swallowed her bite of food “No weakness!" she mocked Yondu's tone.

Kraglin nodded, “He envy’s you, I think. The way you’re so… carefree.” He took another bite.

Gwen shook her head. “He’s like that too. He just can’t be, not around here.”

“I know.” Kraglin admitted “But at least he can be himself with you. I mean, he lets his guard down with me a bit, but it ain’t the same.” Kraglin thought for a moment. “I didn’t get what he saw in you at first. Now I do.” He nodded approvingly at Gwen.


	18. Something To Talk about

The next afternoon Yondu, Tullk and only one of the grunts returned. Gwen and Kraglin went to meet them at the ship but she was not prepared for the greeting she received. All three men were covered in blood. Tullk’s face was bruised with a fresh cut above his left eye, the grunt had gotten his nose broken, but worst of all, Yondu had what looked like a bleeding wound on his shoulder.

“Oh my god, Yondu! What happened?”

“Exactly what I said would happen.” He grumbled as he walked right past her and continued down the catwalk with Gwen and his men trailing behind.

“Where’s Johan?” Kraglin asked nobody in particular.

Tullk gave Kraglin a wary look and shook his head. “We got ambushed. That jackhole had his buddies waiting for us. We took care of them, but not before they got Johan.”

Yondu headed to the medbay to get cleaned up. “Kraglin, get this ship moving. I wanna leave this piece of shit rock far behind us.”

“Yes, sir.” Kraglin left and headed to the deck.

Gwen felt helpless. She watched as the medic patched Yondu’s shoulder up wishing she could help in some way. “What can I do? I feel like I should be doing something.”

Yondu smiled and cupped her face with his right hand. “You ain’t gotta do nuthin’, girl. Just bein’ here is enough.” He looked down at the bandage on his shoulder and nodded to the medic. He hopped down and tried to put his shirt back on.

Gwen could tell he was having trouble. She grabbed the collar of the shirt. “Stop. That shirt is full of holes and blood. Come back to the room and we’ll get you a clean one. You’re jacket will have to be repaired too.”

“I ain’t walkin through this ship without a shirt on.”

“Why not?” she challenged “You look more intimidating with it off.”

Yondu thought for a moment, and then conceded.

 

Alone in their room, Gwen drew a bath for Yondu and herself. With Yondu leaning back against Gwen’s bare chest and his arms resting on her bent knees, they soaked in the warm water while she gently, and carefully, washed him. He relaxed with his eyes closed, trying to forget about the ambush that took another one of his men. “Tell me somethin’ you miss about home.”

“Hmm…” Gwen thought and said the first thing that popped into her mind. “Crickets.”

“What are crickets?” Yondu listened with his eyes still closed.

“They’re these little insects that hop around, and at night they chirp. When it’s quiet, you can hear them everywhere. It’s peaceful.” She ran the washcloth slowly over his good shoulder and then kissed it.

“Tell me somethin’ else. Anything else. Just keep talkin.” Yondu sighed.

Gwen thought about her most precious calming memories. “I used to live in the desert. It didn’t rain very often but when it did it poured like crazy. Mostly at night. Sometimes the thunder roared so loudly that it would wake us all up. So, my mom would make us all hot chocolate and we would take our blankets out to the back porch, wrap ourselves up and watch the rain. Nobody would even talk. We just watched the rain fall and the wind blow through the trees. We’d watch the lightening flash through the sky and wait for the thunder to hit.” Gwen didn’t realize until she felt the droplets fall from her cheeks that she was crying. She sniffled and wiped her face.

“You miss your family.” It was a statement, not a question. Yondu knew how much they meant to her.

Gwen let out a heavy breath. “Yeah.”

Yondu approached his next question with trepidation. “Do you want to go home?”

“No!” Gwen was immediately put off by the notion. “I mean, I would like to see them again. My biggest fear is that they think I’m dead. I just don’t want them to worry about me. But no, I don’t want to leave you.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

Yondu didn’t want to bring it up, but he needed her to understand the gravity of her choice. “Gwen, you realize that their fear is real, don’t you? You could'a died already out here. You could die tomorrow. I was taken from my family. I took Peter from his. And now he’s taken you from yours.”

“No,” Gwen snapped “Don’t you dare put that on Peter. He gave me the choice. I’m the one that jumped on the ship.”

“Fair enough,” Yondu nodded. “But did you really understand what you were doin'? Or did you just act on impulse?”

Gwen frowned, "I hadn't thought about it that way before... but seeing how it all turned out, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have done it all again. I made my choice, Yondu. And I’m happy with it. I know, I had to make sacrifices… but we all have to at some point.”


	19. Walking on Sunshine

Gwen awoke to the feeling of sunshine on her face. Disoriented, she opened her eyes and looked around. She was still in Yondu’s room. He was still lying in bed next to her, fast asleep. But the room was uncharacteristically lit up with a bright light. She sat up and turned around to look out the window and was greeted with the bright light of a nearby sun as they passed by.

She tapped Yondu’s good shoulder, still staring out the window. “Yondu! Yondu, wake up!”

“What?” Yondu grumbled, annoyed by the intrusion.

“Look!” She shook him again “Look at this!”

Yondu sat up, rubbing his face. He looked out the window, unimpressed by the view. “Yeah, it’s a sun. So what?”

Gwen looked back at him excitedly. “So I haven’t seen sunlight in weeks! It’s beautiful!”

Yondu raised an eyebrow, “We passed by one the other day. I didn’t see you gettin’ all worked up then?”

Gwen scoffed and rolled her eyes. “We were too far away, it wasn’t the same.” She grabbed his hand and held it to her chest. “Please, can we stop? Please, please, please?! Just for a little bit?!”

Yondu chuckled and shook his head. He sluggishly climbed out of bed and walked over to the com system on the wall. He pressed a button. “Kraglin.”

Kraglin’s staticky voice came back through the speaker “Yes, sir?”

“All stop.”

“Sir?” Kraglin was confused.

“Just do it.” Yondu huffed.

“Yes sir.”

Gwen jumped out of bed and ran over to Yondu, hugging him carefully around the waist. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Yondu grinned and hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. “Alright, alright.”

Gwen ran to the bathroom to get dressed. Yondu stood in the middle of the room looking out the window. The sunshine did feel good, if he was being honest. He tried to stretch, but was stopped by the pain in his shoulder. He grumbled again and meandered slowly to the bathroom.

 

Gwen didn’t even wait for Yondu. She dressed quickly and ran to the rec room. It was filled with crew men, mostly Xandarians, who probably missed the sunshine as much as she did. She noticed immediately that there was a shift in the atmosphere. The men were smiling. Some were gathered in groups, joking and laughing. Some were playing cards and some were wrestling. She found Kraglin by the window with Obo and Eugene. She cautiously walked across the crowded room. Gwen couldn’t help but notice some of the men nod or smile at her as she walked by. She wasn’t sure why, but she smiled and nodded back anyway. When Kraglin saw Gwen, he smiled and gestured for her to join them.

Eugene laughed and patted Gwen on the shoulder, “Ha ha! And here’s the lass now! Well done, missy, well done!”

Gwen was confused, “Wait, what did I do?”

Kraglin pointed out the window, “We know this wasn’t Yondu’s idea.” He winked at her.

“So I guess I’m not the only one who misses the sun, huh?” She looked around the room.

“Of course not,” Obo nodded to the crowd, “we all weren’t born on this rust bucket.” He chuckled.

Without warning, the crowd began to cheer. Gwen and Kraglin turned to see the Captain walking towards them. Gwen smiled proudly as everyone cheered for the Captain, thanking him.

Yondu rolled his eyes and gestured for them to quiet down. The men laughed but obliged.

Gwen gave Yondu a smug grin, “See… I _told_ you!”

“Alright, alright.” He cocked a half smile, “You can wipe that smirk off your face now.” He turned to Kraglin. “Yoriah is only a couple hours from here. Everybody gets 36 hours leave staring at 1200. Go make the announcement.”

“Yes sir!” Kraglin beamed and headed out.

Gwen looked at Yondu wide eyed, “What’s Yoriah? And does ‘leave’ mean what I think it means?”

Yondu rubbed Gwen’s arms and smiled “It’s a planet, not too far from here. You up for spending some time on land?”

Gwen tried very hard to conceal her excitement, but a squeak escaped her lips. She may have even hopped a little. She wanted to wrap her arms around the Captain but thought better of it and held her arms tightly by her sides. She couldn’t wait to step off the ship.


	20. Someone That I Used To Know

“So what is there to do on Yoriah?” Gwen asked as she packed an overnight bag.

Yondu gave a sheepish grin, “Well, I don’t rightly remember.” He kept his head down as he packed his bag. “Most of our time was spent in the…” he cleared his throat and mumbled “… in the gentlemen’s club.”

Gwen stood upright and looked directly at him, with her hands on her hips, “Yondu.”

“What?” He answered, annoyed and slightly embarrassed.

“I’m not naïve. This is a ship full of men. It’s assumed. I didn’t exactly think you were celibate before you met me.” She chuckled and went back to packing.

“So, uh” Yondu looked up at Gwen nervously “I guess now might be a good time to mention, I might have a… a lady friend… that might be expectin’ me when we get there?”

“Oh really?” Gwen closed up her bag. “Exactly how many of these _lady friends_ do you have?”

“I might have a couple here and there. You know, on our regular stops.”

“Uh huh” Gwen folded her arms, smirking. She was enjoying watching Yondu squirm. “And what do you plan on telling this particular lady friend?”

Yondu thought for a moment, “How open are you to a possible threesome?”

Gwen raised an eyebrow and shook her head slowly.

“Alright, fine.” Yondu pouted playfully. “I’ll let her know I won’t be needing her services anymore.”

Gwen chuckled and walked over to Yondu. She placed her hands on his chest and gave him a kiss, “Let her down gently.” She teased.

 

Yondu and Gwen took Kraglin’s ship down to the planet with Kraglin, Tullk and Gef. Their first stop was the hotel which, coincidentally, happened to be right next to the gentlemen’s club... which was also a bar, a theater and a restaurant. Yondu tried convincing Gwen to stay at the hotel while he went to talk to his ‘lady friend’ next door.

“Ha! No way!” She laughed.

“What? You don’t trust me or somethin’?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just didn’t come down here to be cooped up in a hotel for three days. If The Orion is the hang out spot around here, then I’m going!”

Frustrated, Yondu rolled his eyes at Gwen. “Fine, but at least let me talk to her privately when we get there.”

“That’s fine.”

 

The Orion was much classier than Gwen was expecting. Kraglin went with to keep Gwen company, but Tullk and Gef were already upstairs with their own girls. The building was wide open with tall ceilings and intricately decorated pillars. The bedrooms were all upstairs in the back half of the building. The staff was well dressed, the ladies were beautiful and the food smelled delicious. Gwen didn’t recognize any of the other patrons.

“Where’s the rest of the crew?” Gwen asked Yondu.

“They don’t come here. They go do The Galaxy Nightclub on the other side of town. Only me and the officers come here.”

“Oh. That makes sense.” Gwen nodded. She wondered just how pricey this place was.

“Captain Udonta!” A seductive voice came from behind them.

Gwen turned around to see a beautiful smiling gray woman wearing a gold shimmering gown walking towards them. Her pink hair was pulled up into an elegantly braided bun. She was adorned with long gold necklaces and earrings. Her lips were the same pink as her hair and her eyelashes fanned out like waves. She looked to be a few years older than Gwen, but then again she could be 5 or 500 for all she knew.

The graceful woman walked over and kissed Yondu on the cheek. “You’ve been away far too long, Captain.” She teased. The woman looked over at Gwen and smiled, “And who is this?”

Yondu cleared his throat, “Alanna, this is Guinevere. Guinevere, this is Alanna.”

Alanna took Gwen’s hand, “It’s so nice to meet you, my dear.”

Gwen, dumbfounded and completely intimidated, didn’t know how to respond, “My god, you’re beautiful.”

Alanna’s laugh sang through the room, “Well thank you sweetheart. You’re quite the looker yourself.”

“Alanna, let’s go talk for a minute… in private.” Yondu took her hand and led her upstairs.

“Of course,” she waved back at Gwen and Kraglin “You two have fun!”

Gwen let out a heavy sigh, “How do you think she’ll take it?”

“I think she’ll be fine. All these ladies have their regulars. I’m sure The Cap’s no different.”

 

Kraglin and Gwen went to the bar and ordered drinks and then went to sit down at a table. They watched as a pretty, young girl got up on stage to sing.

Gwen took a sip of her drink and nodded to the stage, “If this were back home, the boys would be hollering for her to take her clothes off right about now.”

Kraglin scoffed, “They’re doing the same thing at The Galaxy right now. This place is high class. You act like a fool here, you get thrown out. And not just out of The Orion. You get thrown out of the hotel, too.”

Gwen nodded, impressed. The song ended and they applauded as the girl smiled and left the stage, still fully dressed. It was about that time that Yondu and Alanna returned, and to Gwen’s relief, Alanna was still smiling. Yondu walked over to the bar to order a drink while Alanna headed to the table.

“Let me get a better look at you, dear.” She sat down next to Gwen and cupped her face, looking into her eyes. “So this is the girl that captured Yondu’s heart. And here I thought you were with Mr. Obfonteri.” She shook her head with an impressed smile, “My, my, my.” She patted Gwen’s lap, “Well done, sweetheart.”

“So you’re not upset then?” Gwen smiled sheepishly.

Alanna laughed, “Oh, honey, that talk was more for your benefit than for mine. I mean sure…” she briefly dropped her voice to a whisper “… the sex was amazing!” The girls giggled and Alanna put her hand on Gwen’s arm. “But I’m glad he finally found someone.” Yondu walked over and sat down next to Gwen. Alanna winked at Gwen. “Anyhow! I’d better get back to work! You all have a lovely evening!” She stood up and walked past Yondu. “Oh, and Captain…” She stroked his beard with her fingertips and gave him a pouty face “… I’ll miss you, sugar.” She gave him a wink and fluttered off as Yondu blushed purple under his blue skin.

“Wow” Gwen breathed before taking another sip, “She’s amazing.”

“Hey,” Yondu looked in Gwen’s eyes, making sure he had her undivided attention, “She ain’t got nuthin’ on you, you understand?” He waved his hand in the direction Alanna left, “All that right there. That was all an act. The clothes, the hair, the jewelry… none of it’s real. You…” he smoothed Gwen’s cheek with his thumb “… you’re the real deal. You remember that.”

Gwen melted under Yondu’s gaze. “Kraglin?”

“Yes ma’am?” Kraglin looked at her confused.

“Could you please finish my drink? I need to take The Captain back to the hotel for a bit.”

Kraglin chuckled into his glass, “Yes, ma’am.”

Gwen took Yondu’s hand and stood up. Yondu’s eye widened and he tossed his drink back quickly before Gwen led him out of the theater.

 

Gwen led Yondu into the hotel room and shut the door behind them. She kissed him passionately as he held her tight around the waist.

“How’s the shoulder?” She breathed between kisses.

Yondu nodded, “It’s good.”

Gwen took his jacket off and tossed it to the floor, “You sure?”

Yondu unzipped Gwen’s jacket and did the same. He nodded again, breathless, “I’m sure, I’m sure.”

Gwen pulled away and smiled, “Good.” She pushed him down onto the bed. She stripped off her clothes and then helped Yondu out of his. She climbed on top of him and kissed his neck feverishly. She started licking him, but then got too excited and bit him. Yondu growled and grabbed Gwen’s hips, pushing her down onto himself. Gwen moaned excitedly and began rocking her hips back and forth. She pushed herself up, arching her back and rode him hard until they both orgasmed and collapsed onto the bed.

 

The lovers woke up after a short nap. They took a shower and then Yondu said he wanted to take Gwen shopping in the district.

“Shopping? Why do you want to take me shopping?” She asked, pulling her boots on.

“So we can get ya a nice dress.” Yondu said casually, brushing the whiskers on his chin.  

Gwen grinned, “Wait a minute. You spent weeks trying to toughen me up, and now you want to go and make me look soft again?” She stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I know you like pretty things. I haven’t forgotten. If you can’t be yourself around me, then I ain’t doin’ things proper.”

Gwen smiled and nodded “I do like pretty things.”

“Well alright then. Let’s go get you fancied up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate chapter title: Back to the Hotel


	21. Wonderful Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TRIGGER WARNING** - Depiction of attempted rape.

Yondu almost fell asleep in the little frilly chair waiting for Gwen to come out. He had taken her to an upscale dress shop with an assistant that helped Gwen pick out a dress and heels. They then went to the salon next door to have her hair done. He hadn’t realized just how long all this prettying up took. His head started to fall again, and once again, the clerk at the desk cleared her throat to wake him up. He looked over at her and gave her an irritated smile, which she returned.

“Okay!” The stylist came out from the back room with a smile. “Here she is! Princess Guinevere of Terra!”

Gwen mumbled from behind the wall “I’m not really a princess.”

“I’ve never met a Terran before” The stylist quipped, “Let me live a little, darlin’.”

“Ahem.” Yondu cleared his throat to get their attention.

“Come on, dear, he’s waiting.”

Gwen came out from around the corner and Yondu froze. She was beautiful; dressed in a full length light blue strapless ball gown with matching heels. Her hair had been trimmed and curled, pinned up on one side and scooped over, flowing down the other shoulder. Though Yondu decided that the most beautiful thing she wore that night was her beaming smile.

Gwen held her arms out and spun around slowly. “Well, what do you think?”

Yondu cleared his throat again, “Um… I’m thinkin’ we may need to go back to the hotel again.”

“No!” She scolded him playfully, pointing a finger, “I did not get all dressed up just for you to mess it all up again! This took _way_ too long.” She laughed.

“Well then,” Yondu stood up and held out his arm for her to take it, “I think it’s time we went dancing, then.”

Gwen’s face lit up “Dancing?! Really?!” She eagerly took Yondu’s arm.

“If that’s what my girl wants, then that’s what she gets.”

 

Gwen and Yondu walked into The Halion Night Club arm in arm. The music was loud and the lights danced along the walls. The music was strange, but not completely off from Terran music. Yondu escorted Gwen to the bar. They got a couple of drinks and watched the crowd dance and sway. After a few minutes, the music turned to a slow song. Yondu took Gwen’s drink and set it down with his. He took her hand and led her out to the dancefloor.

“Alright, so how do I do this?” Yondu smirked.

Gwen took his right hand and put it around her waist. She held his left hand up and put her left arm around his shoulder. She started to sway side to side and turn around the room slowly.

Yondu smiled and nodded, “Okay, I guess I can see the appeal. It’s like a really fancy hug.”

Gwen laughed hysterically and rested her head on his shoulder. He chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

They danced until the song ended. Gwen lifted her head and kissed Yondu softly. “I have to go to the restroom, I’ll meet you back at the bar.” She walked off to look for the restroom.

 

Gwen turned down the hallway and almost made it to the restroom door when she was stopped. Someone grabbed her by the arm and slammed her up against the wall. He held her there by her jaw.

“Hello, pretty.” A deep and ominous voice said to her. The hallway was too dark to see who was pinning her, but she could tell he was big. Taller than Yondu and probably stronger.

“Let go of me!” she cried out, but the music was too loud. She scratched and grabbed at the man’s arm, but he wouldn’t budge.

“I saw you at The Orion earlier today.” He spoke slowly, letting his words sink in. “And I thought to myself, any treasure of Yondu Udonta’s was a prize to be won.” He laughed threateningly.

“YOND…” She tried to scream for Yondu, but the shadowed figure quickly covered her mouth.

“Shhhhhh… we don’t need him to know about this.” The man tried to reach his hand underneath Gwen’s dress.   
She screamed through his hand. Gwen grabbed his arm and held on, lifting her legs up into a crouch and then lunging both heels into his chest.

“Ugh!” The man yelled and fell to the ground, dropping Gwen. “You bitch!” She could see him holding his chest where her heels broke the skin.

“Gwen!” Yondu yelled out. She looked down the hall and saw Yondu staring at the dark scene, wide eyed and confused. She scrambled up off the floor and ran to him, wrapping herself around him without saying a word.

“You _bitch_!” The man yelled again as he lunged for Gwen.

Yondu whistled to release his arrow, but this time he was too late. Gwen had already pulled his blaster out of his holster and shot the man square in the chest. The body fell to the ground like a sack of bricks.

Someone turned on the lights and Gwen quickly realized they were surrounded by witnesses. People started to gasp, a girl screamed, and more people whispered.

An employee pushed through the crowd and stopped when he saw the body. “Oh my gods… what have you done?”

“Hey” Yondu stared down the employee, “Shut up.”

Gwen looked up confused, “Hhh… he… attacked… me.” She said flatly.

Yondu could tell Gwen was going into shock. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

The employee snapped back, pointing at the body “That was a Kree soldier!”

Yondu’s fin lit up, “I said shut up!”

Gwen looked at the employee, “What’s a Kree soldier?”

Yondu held her face in his hand “Nothin’ you gotta worry yourself about right now. Let’s go sit down for a minute.”

The employee grabbed Yondu’s arm “You know I gotta call Nova Corp on this.”

Yondu gave the man a death stare and spoke coolly “Get your hand off me, boy.”

Yondu sat Gwen down at a table by the bar while the night club ushered the guests out of the building. He tried to look her in the eyes but she was already too far gone. He took her hands in his. “Hey, look at me.” She looked up at him blankly. “Everything’s gonna to be fine, okay?”

“Okay.” Gwen nodded absentmindedly.

The female manager came over and spoke softly “Mr Udonta?”

“Captain” He glared at her.

“My apologies, Captain Udonta. The authorities have been contacted. They should be here in a few hours.”

To say Yondu was furious was an understatement. “My _wife_ was attacked in _your_ club! All she did was defend herself!”

Gwen was jerked back to reality when she heard Yondu use the word ‘wife’, “Huh?” She looked up at him curiously. Yondu didn’t say anything, or even look away from the manager. He just gave her hand a quick squeeze. Gwen understood the signal meant for her to keep quiet.

“I know” the manager was trying to keep Yondu’s temper under control “and I am deeply sorry for what happened. Under normal circumstances we wouldn’t have gotten involved, but the fact that the man that attacked her was a Kree soldier…” She trailed off, knowing he knew full well the weight of the situation.

Gwen pulled her hands out of Yondu’s and rubbed her head, “For the love of god would _somebody_ tell me what the hell is a Kree soldier?!”

Yondu unintentionally snapped back at her “Not now!” He took her hand and stood up. He turned to the manager “You can tell Nova Corp they can find us at The Orion Hotel, suite 213.”


	22. Til The Landslide Brought It Down

Yondu put Gwen into a taxi and took her back to the hotel. They rode the entire way in silence. Yondu stared out the window, holding onto Gwen’s hand for dear life. She knew something was very wrong. Worse than just a killing. She mentally scoffed. Since when was anything worse than killing someone? Apparently when it was a ‘Kree soldier’, whatever that meant. How horribly the night had gone, she thought. She couldn’t compartmentalize each situation. Someone attacked her and tried to rape her. That hit pretty high on the suck-o-meter. But then she killed him. She killed a man. And just like Yondu said, it took its toll. But that wasn’t bad enough. Now she was in serious trouble; enough so that Yondu looked scared. And now, after everything, all she could think about was how Yondu felt. The sadness in his eyes was haunting. She now realized, every time he told her everything was going to be okay, he wasn’t trying to convince her. He was trying to convince himself. She wished she could say or do something to fix it. She wished she could go back in time and stop it from ever happening. Gwen began to sob silently. She squeezed Yondu’s hand back and he turned to look at her.

“No,” he whispered to her, wrapping her into his arms “Ssshhh… we’re gonna fix this, okay? We’re gonna fix this.”

 

They walked into the room and Gwen turned to Yondu, tears still streaming down her face, “You need to tell me what I did.” She demanded. “You need to tell me why Nova Corps is investigating this.”

Yondu took Gwen to the bed and sat down with her, his hands still refusing to leave hers. “First of all, you need to know this ain’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then why are they coming after me?”

Yondu took a deep breath and then let it out. “The Kree is on the brink of war with Xandar. They have an agreement, but it’s… precarious. The Nova Corps is based out of Xandar. So a war with them is a war with the Nova Corps.”

“But what does that have to do with me?” She still didn’t understand.

Yondu shook his head, his face hung with defeat. “It’s not you, it’s me. Most of my crew is Xandarian. And you’re part of my crew. It’s possible that the Kree will see this as an intentional attempt at war.”

Both shock and fear fell over Gwen’s face, “What?! But I’m not Xandarian!”

“I know that, you know that, and even the Kree will know that. But they want war. And they’ll likely use any minor excuse to start one.”

“So even if you had killed him, we’d still be in this same mess?”

Yondu sighed again, “Not entirely.”

“I don’t understand.” Gwen’s head was spinning and she felt sick.

“If I had killed him, it may have still started a war, but… You’re Terran.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Guinevere… you’re not even supposed to be out here. Peter should have never taken you from Terra. We were never authorized to be on your planet in the first place.”

Gwen was starting to get angry, “But what about Peter??”

“Peter’s been out here for thirty years. Call it a grandfather clause if you want.”

“Wait… is that why you told the manager I was your wife?”

Yondu nodded, “I’m hoping that if they think we’re married, or we _do_ get married, they’ll let you stay.”

Hearing Yondu say the words that she was thinking, but trying not to think about, set her over the edge. A panic attack hit her full force in the chest. She couldn’t breathe. “They’re going to send me back, aren’t they? To appease the Kree?” She gasped, looking down at the floor.

Yondu held her face and forced her to look him in the eyes, “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. We’ll get married, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll run. Kraglin can take over the ship and you and I will disappear.”

Gwen jerked at his last comment, “No, I can’t let you do that. That’s your home. That’s _our_ home!”

“Home is just a dot on a map, baby girl. Don’t matter where it is.”

“But you’ve worked so hard, I can’t let you-“

“And I can’t let them take you back!” Yondu looked away and let out another hard sigh. He wrapped his arms around her and laid back on the bed. They held each other silently as Gwen cried herself to sleep. Yondu could do nothing but stare at the wall, plotting every which way he could think of to get her out of this situation.

 

An hour later, there was a loud knock at the door…


	23. Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Yondu went to the door with his arrow at the ready. “Who is it?” Yondu spoke softly through the door, trying not to wake Gwen.

“It’s us, sir!” Kraglin’s voice came through the other side.

Yondu cracked opened the door to see Kraglin, Tullk and Gef. Shock and concern covered their faces.  
He opened the door wide to let the men in, “Come in, quick.” He whispered, then shut it and locked it behind them.

“We heard what happened.” Said Tullk, somberly.

“Is she okay?” Kraglin asked, looking over at the sleeping girl on the bed. He was taken aback by the dress.

Yondu shook his head, “No, she ain’t.”

“What er ya gonna do?” Gef asked.

“Don’t know yet.”

“If you run from Nova Corps, you’ll be running forever. Or until they catch you.” Tullk warned.

“I know that, fool!” Yondu didn’t need to hear any more of what he already knew. “Right now we’re playin’ nice. We’ll wait to hear what they have to say before we decide what to do.”

“How soon are they gonna be here?” Kraglin asked.

“Don’t know, couple hours maybe. They’re going to go investigate at the club and then they’re coming here to talk to us.”

Gef spoke up “Cap, if you’re gonna run, now would be the time ta do it.”

Tullk whacked Gef in the chest “You lame brain, they wouldn’t get out of orbit before they got caught.”

“I’m just sayin, the closer they get-“

Tullk looked at Yondu “What if you told them _you_ killed him?”

Yondu shook his head, “Everyone saw her holding the gun, otherwise I would.”

“And what?” Kraglin interrupted “Leave me to run the ship all by myself?!”

The boys were getting louder and Gwen started to rustle. Yondu raised his arms “Shut up!” he whispered loudly. The room grew quiet. Yondu gestured for the boys to sit down somewhere. It was going to be a long night.

 

Yondu sat on the floor, leaning his back up against the bed. He picked at his fingernails with his arrow as he stared off into space. Gef fell asleep on the couch and Kraglin and Tullk sat at a small table playing cards. No one had spoken a word in almost three hours.

Yondu chuckled, “What’s that song Peter used to always sing?”

Kraglin looked over at him, “Which one?”

“I dunno, somethin’ about dying and your spirit goin’ in the sky.”

Gwen started singing, which startled the boys, “When I die and they lay me to rest. I’m gonna go to the place that’s the best. When I lay me down to die, goin’ up to the spirit in the sky.”

The boys started singing along with her. At least the parts that they knew. Kraglin started singing the high pitched “When I dieeeee” part and made everyone laugh.

The uplifted mood in the room was short-lived. There was another knock at the door. Gwen sat up nervously. Yondu walked to the door, arrow still in his left hand, holding out his right to Gwen to instruct her to stay where she was.

“Who is it?” Yondu yelled through the door for a second time.

“Sergeant Rowley with Nova Corps, sir. Please open the door.”

Gwen felt her heart jump in her chest. She wanted to run and hide, but she knew there was no place to run to. She pressed her hand to her chest, trying to will her heart to calm down.  

Yondu looked back at her and gave her a grim smile. He put his arrow away, took a deep breath and opened the door.

There, standing in the doorway, were three, tall, clean cut men wearing blue and gray uniforms.

The man in the middle nodded, “Captain Udonta. We need to speak with you and your wife…” He looked around the room and saw Gef, Kraglin and Tullk in the room and then looked back at Yondu “… alone please.”

Yondu invited the officers in and ushered his own men out of the room.

Two of the officers sat on the couch across from the bed, while Sergeant Rowley stood. Yondu sat on the bed next to Gwen, holding her hand.

The Sergeant pulled out a small recording device and set it down on the end table next to the couch. “We’ll be recording this for our records. Now, Mrs. Udonta-”

“Gwen, please.”

The Sergeant nodded, “Gwen. Please tell us what happened at The Halion Night Club.”

Gwen went into as much detail as she could remember, from the moment she walked off to the bathroom until the club employee turned on the lights. How he slammed her against the wall, how she tried to scream, what he looked like. How she ran to Yondu to reach for his gun, not realizing he was about to kill the man himself. She also told them what the soldier said about seeing her at The Orion earlier that day and how her being ‘Yondu’s treasure’ was a ‘prize to be won’.

Yondu stiffened at the last statement. Gwen and the officers could all see Yondu’s jaw clench and his fin light up at her last statement.

The sergeant thanked Gwen and then turned off the recording device. He took a deep breath and folded his arms. “Alright, I’m gonna tell it to you straight.” He looked at Yondu seriously “If that had happened to _my_ wife, I would have beat the man’s dead body to a pulp, Kree soldier or not. I don’t think either of you did anything wrong here, and I'm sure Nova Prime will agree. But because that jackhole was Kree, this whole big mess just became political.”

Yondu looked off and sighed, nodding in agreement.

The sergeant continued, “They’re gonna want her head on a platter.”

Gwen froze with fear. The thought of being handed over to the Kree hadn’t even occurred to her.

“But…” he added “we’re gonna do everything we can to protect you two, okay?”

Shock came over Gwen and she looked up wide eyed “You mean I’m not going to prison?” she asked too eagerly.

He shook his head, “No ma’am. You two are free to go for now. We’ll still need to keep in touch with you, but there’s no reason to keep you any longer.”

Gwen hugged Yondu around the waist and cried with relief into his chest. Yondu shook the sergeant’s hand and thanked him. He stood up to walk them out.

Just as the officers were walking out the door, Sergeant Rowley stopped “Oh, I forgot to ask. Just for our records, what race are you, Mrs. Udonta?”

Gwen froze and looked at Yondu.

Yondu spoke up before Gwen could say anything. “Chotillion. She’s Chotillion.”

“From Xandar?” the sergeant asked

“Yes. That’s right.” Yondu nodded.

The sergeant smiled “Perfect, thanks again.”

Yondu shut the door and cursed under his breath.

“Why did you lie?” Gwen asked, surprised.

“To buy us some time.”


	24. It's Time

Gwen changed back into her uniform and she and Yondu packed up as quickly as they could. Kraglin made the call to the crew that leave had been canceled due to unfortunate events and they were to return to the ship immediately. Whoever did not return would be left behind. Before leaving the planet, however, Yondu and Gwen had a quick and legal wedding, with Kraglin and Tullk being the only witnesses. The ceremony was the exact opposite of romantic, and neither one had rings, but when the officiant asked if they were sure they wanted to go through with it, both agreed without a hint of hesitation. Afterwards, they hastily filled out the paperwork, paid the officiant and took off in the m-class ship back to The Eclector.

 

It was only after they were away from the planet did Gwen feel like she could finally breathe. She started to unpack and found the dress and shoes in her bag. She stared at the shoes, seeing the blood stains still on the heels, she screamed and threw them across the room.

“Hey!” Yondu walked over to her cautiously, “What’s this?”

“You were right.” She pulled the light blue dress out of the bag and stared at it.

“Well that ain’t nothin’ new; but what, specifically, was I right about this time?”

“You told me not to show weakness. I have to be tough all the time. I let my guard down for one day and look what happened.” She was about to rip the dress into shreds before Yondu stopped her.

“Hey now!” He grabbed the dress out of her hands and threw it on the bed. He held her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes “This wasn’t your fault! None of it! You gotta stop blamin’ yourself!” He yelled. “Besides… I’m the one that bought the damn dress. I’m the one that took you to the club and it was ME that he was trying to get at! _He_ was tryin to punish you because of _me!_ If you wanna blame someone so bad, blame me!”

Gwen quickly realized that Yondu did, in fact, feel responsible. For everything. She saw the guilt he carried in his eyes and the angrier she got at herself, the angrier he got at himself. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. Neither spoke for a long time. Once Gwen finally did speak, she decided to change the subject.

“Holy shit.” She said, shocked.

“What?” Yondu asked, concerned.

“We just got _married_.”

Yondu chuckled “Yeah we did, didn’t we?”

“That was nothing like I thought it would be.” Gwen teased.

Yondu scoffed “I never thought I’d get married, so you’re still one up on me.”

“Are you gonna be okay with this?” Gwen asked, testing his reaction.

“It’s just a piece of paper. Don’t change nothin'. You’re still Gwen and I’m still me.”

Gwen squeezed him tighter.

“But actually…” he pulled away from her and walked to the armoire in the bathroom closet. He came back out with a small box. He opened it and inside was a silver ring with a round, blue stone setting that matched the color of his skin.

“Oh my god! Where did you get this?” She asked in shock.

Yondu shrugged, “I’ve had it for a while. Never thought I’d have anyone to give it to.”

“It’s gorgeous!” Gwen couldn’t stop staring at it.

“Well, I already know you’re crazy enough to marry me. But you crazy enough to let everybody know?” he smirked.

“Hell yeah, gimme that bad boy!” She laughed.

Yondu put the ring on her finger. It fit snug, probably a half size too small. But Gwen didn’t care. She had no plans of ever taking it off.

 

After about a week, things returned to normal. At least, there was a _new_ normal. The men were back to their grumpy selves. Yondu was back to his daily officer’s meetings (that she still was not allowed into), but Gwen now had a job on the ship. After learning what she did back on Terra, Yondu started to consult with Gwen on how to handle deals. She told Yondu when she thought he could haggle more money out of a client, she advised him when she thought he should back out (though he rarely did), and she was able to smooth out deals where she felt the client was going to flake out. He started noticing a percentage increase in his profits and he tried to give some of that profit to Gwen, but she refused. She told him there wasn’t really anything she needed, besides clothes, that couldn’t be provided on the ship. Yondu didn’t agree with her stance on money, and even though he couldn’t open an account for her (since she wasn’t technically legal), he could set aside money for her in a separate account in his name with Guinevere Udonta as the beneficiary.

 

Peter caught wind of what happened on Yoriah and had been calling Gwen almost every day to check in and keep updated.

“Hey baby sis, how you doin?” He smiled into the monitor.

“I’m doing okay, and you _do_ realize I’m older than you, right?” She teased.

“Psh” Peter scoffed “By like… a month.”

“That still makes you the baby.” She grinned.

“Nu uh, you’re shorter.” Peter retorted. Gwen laughed and then Peter got serious. “How’s Yondu?”

“He’s doing okay. We still haven’t heard anything from Nova Corps yet. But we suspect once they realize I’m not in their Xandar database, we’re going to have to come up with a new story.”

“But you’re married now, so even though you’re still not legal-legal, they can’t technically send you back, can they?”

“I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Well… whatever happens, I’m there for you.”                                                                       

“Thanks Peter.”

 

They finally got the call from Nova Corps two weeks later. And the news wasn’t great. Nova Prime made the call herself, asking both Yondu and Gwen to come in. Yondu wanted to run, but Gwen refused. She wanted to deal with it and finally get it over with. As much as Yondu hated the idea, and as easily as he could have just kept running, he respected her wishes and set the course for Xandar.

 

Gwen and Yondu went to the planet alone, leaving Kraglin at the helm. The Nova Corps headquarters building was tall and stood in the center of the city, made of glass and metal with a large star shaped symbol on the side. Standing underneath it intimidated Gwen. But if it intimidated Yondu at all, he didn’t show it. He was wearing his steel poker face. They walked in and were greeted by the clerk at the front desk. She escorted them to the elevator and up to the top floor. When the doors opened, they were greeted by another clerk at another desk.

“Shahan, Captain Yondu Udonta and his wife are here to see Nova Prime.” The first clerk said to the second.

“Thanks Jaylene.” Both ladies smiled at each other. Jaylene took the elevator back downstairs.

Shahan, still smiling, directed Gwen and Yondu to the couches by the window “Please, have a seat and I’ll let her know you’re here.” She walked through a set of double doors and out of sight.

They were alone, and the room was quiet. Gwen sat disturbingly still, but Yondu bounced his leg nervously. After a few moments, Yondu whispered to Gwen “We could run, right now. We could make it.”

“I’m not running, Yondu.” She whispered back. She stood up and, watching the door, walked over to the desk. Gwen wrote something down on a piece of paper and stuck it in her pocket. “Maybe she just wants to tell us that it’s over.”

“She could'a done that over the comm. What are you doin'?”

“Nothing. Look, I’m just trying to be optimistic here!” She whispered louder, sitting back down.

“And I’m bein' realistic!”

Shahan returned and summoned them to follow her back. They walked through the double doors into a large office. The two outer walls were all glass. In front of them was Nova Prime, walking towards them from her desk. She was a smaller, older lady than what Gwen was expecting. She was smiling, but there was trepidation in her eyes. Behind her, on each side of the wall were two officers. Gwen wondered if they were always with her, or if this was a special occasion that required their assistance. Gwen swallowed hard.

“Captain Udonta, Mrs. Udonta, thank you for meeting with me.” She shook both of their hands. “Please have a seat.” She gestured to the two chairs in front of her desk and then sat back down behind it. “The first thing we need to discuss is Mrs. Udonta’s birthplace. We searched our census and found no record of a Guinevere Udonta or a Guinevere Lawrence having ever lived on Xandar. Now I have no idea why you would lie about your name, but I do have a few guesses as to why you might lie about your native planet.” She looked squarely at Yondu “Especially with your history, Captain.”

Yondu cleared his throat, “Did I say she was from Xandar? What I meant was-“

“I know exactly what you meant, Captain.” She didn’t look angry, or even irritated. She looked only concerned. “However. We did find a marriage license from Yoriah, coincidentally dated the same day that our interview took place.” She pulled out a copy of the license that they had filed with both of their signatures on it. “The problem with the license is that, under Gwen’s signature, she listed her race, not as Chotillion, but _Terran_.” She pointed to the line on the license.

Gwen gasped. “Oh my god.” She looked up at Yondu, terrified and guilt-ridden. “I didn’t even think about it!”

Yondu’s heart sunk to the floor. He shut his eyes tight and he held his breath.

“I’m so sorry.” She pleaded to Yondu. He just nodded his head and squeezed her hand.

Nova Prime spoke again, “Gwen, it wouldn’t have mattered what you wrote on the license. Somehow The Kree already knew you were Terran. They’ve been calling for us to turn you over for days. We’ve held off as long as we could.”

Yondu’s eyes shot open, “You ain't gonna hand her over to them!” It was not a pleading request, but rather a threatening warning.

Nova Prime held up her hand, “No, absolutely not. Our ambassadors have been working with The Kree for some sort of compromise.” She took a breath and folded her hands. “They have agreed to drop the matter if we return Gwen to Terra, and she stays there.”

Yondu stood up, outraged, “Why are they punishing her for this! She ain't done nothin' wrong!”

Nova Prime stood up to challenge Yondu, “They’re not doing this to punish her, Captain. They’re doing it to punish you. You and your rebel Xandarian army. I know, it’s not fair. But you intimidate them. They know you’re a force to be reckoned with and they are trying to cut you down to size.”

“So this is how it is, huh? You don’t have our backs! You tuck tail and cower every time they snap!”

“We are talking about _war_ , Captain! I have a city full of families, of children, to protect!...”

Yondu and Nova Prime continued to argue as Gwen stared off into the city. She tuned the yelling out. She saw a park off in the distance with a mother and her two children playing on the swingset. She saw a man, sitting on a bench sharing an ice cream cone with a woman. She saw another man in a suit checking his watch as he sprinted into a building. She mentally came back to the room.

“… as long as everything works perfect in _your_ little corner of the galaxy!” Yondu was still yelling.

“Enough!” Gwen shouted as she stood up. The two officers behind Nova Prime stood at attention. Nova Prime gestured for them to back off.

Gwen looked out the window again briefly before turning her attention back to Yondu. She held his hands in hers and looked him in the eyes. “I’m going back, Yondu.”

They were the words he didn’t want to hear, but he knew had been coming for weeks. Yondu breathed a hard sigh and stared at the ceiling as he pulled her into his chest. “When's she leavin'?” Yondu asked.

Nova Prime’s voice grew solemn. “We have a ship waiting for her now.” The two officers moved from behind the desk, to stand at the double doors, waiting to escort Gwen out.

Gwen watched them cross the room and she lost it. She began sobbing hysterically, holding onto Yondu tightly.

Yondu held her and stroked her hair, “It’s gonna be okay. It’s gonna be okay.” He repeated over and over again. When Gwen started to calm, he bent down and whispered very quietly in her ear, “I’ll find you.”

Gwen pulled away to look up at Yondu and kissed him for as long as she could.

Nova Prime finally spoke “Mrs. Udonta, it’s time.”

Gwen stared into Yondu’s eyes and nodded. She let go and turned away, walking out the door with the officers.

“I am so very, truly sorry, Captain.”

“Nova Prime,” Yondu started to walk out of the office and then turned back to her with reddened eyes “… Go fuck yerself.”


	25. Dream on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been completely rewritten. A lot of info was added, some stuff removed and added to the last chapter. Hope it works better.

Yondu flew back to his ship. He stepped off the m-class and onto the catwalk of the Eclector with rage in his eyes. Kraglin and Tullk were there to meet him.  
“Where’s Gwen?” Tullk asked.  
“On a Nova Corps ship back to Terra.” Yondu walked with a determined pace.  
“I’ll set a course to follow, sir.” Kraglin didn’t miss a beat.  
Yondu held up his hand. “Not yet Kraglin, we got a stop to make first.”  
“Yes, sir.” Kraglin and Tullk headed back to the cockpit. Yondu went straight to his office and shut the door. He pulled out the note that Gwen had slipped in his pocket when she hugged him goodbye. He still didn’t understand what it meant. Just a bunch of numbers, words, and letters in some random order that made no sense to him. He got on his computer and hailed The Milano.  
Peter’s face came on the screen. “Hey Yondu.” His smile quickly turned to concern when he saw the look on Yondu’s face. “What’s going on? Where’s Gwen?”  
“You know all those jobs you keep askin’ for help with? Well, now I got one for you.”

It took less than a week to get back to Earth. The Nova Corps officers wouldn’t even let Gwen go back to The Eclector to get her things. Her cell phone still sat on the night stand next to Yondu’s bed. The officer’s didn’t talk to Gwen much, and when they did, it was brief.  
They were now nearing the planet. “Where do you want us to drop you off?” One officer asked.  
“The clearing north of Kensington Park, San Diego, California, good old U S of A.” she said sarcastically. Gwen then remembered the helicopters that surrounded them the first time. “How are you going to get in undetected?” she asked curiously.  
“A scrambler.” The second man offered without hesitation. “We can disrupt their signals so nothing comes in.”  
Gwen decided that might be good information to remember.  
They flew in under the cover of night. The field looked the same as it did 6 months ago when she left. The men opened the doors, but then stopped Gwen. “Ma’am, you can’t take those.” The officer pointed at her weapons that she still carried on herself. Gwen tilted her head and glared, holding her blaster and dagger protectively.  
“I’m sorry, ma’am. They have to stay here.” He said again.  
Gwen huffed and then handed them over hesitantly. She stared down the officer and spoke coolly, “These better be returned to Captain Udonta.”  
“Yes, ma’am.” There was no malice in his voice. Gwen believed he would do it.  
Gwen took one more deep breath before stepping off the ship.  
“Welcome home, Mrs. Udonta.” One of the officers said to her as she walked out.  
Gwen turned around to him and glared. “You took me from my home.” And she walked away. 

Gwen took her time walking through the clearing and down the path back to the park. She knew her house would no longer be her house. Her car would be gone, all of her things would be gone. Luckily, her parents lived just down the street from the park. 

As much as leaving Earth felt like a dream, returning felt like a nightmare. She no longer felt connected to the planet that held her down for so long. Her feet dragged as she made her way through the park. She wondered if she would ever see Yondu again. She missed all of her friends; Peter, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot. She even missed Kraglin, Obo, Merle and sweet old Eugene.

Gwen walked up the stairs to the front door of her parents’ house. All the lights were off. She knocked anyway. After a few minutes, nothing happened. So she knocked again, louder, and then rang the doorbell three times. Finally, a light came on inside the house. The front door quickly flew open, and there stood Gwen’s stunned mother, Marianna.  
“Guinevere!” Her mother breathed. Gwen broke down in front of her mother and began bawling again. Marianna pulled Gwen in and hugged her daughter. The two women held each other and cried for a long time, both for very different reasons.  
_______________________  
Peter and his crew finally arrived on The Eclector. They were meeting with Yondu and Kraglin in his office, explaining what had happened the day Gwen was taken and trying to figure out how they were going to get Gwen back.  
“Wait a minute.” Rocket spoke with disbelief. “How the hell can Nova Corps land on Terra when we couldn’t even get in undetected?”  
“That’s one thing we’ve got to figure out,” Peter spoke up, “But we also don’t know where she is. Terra is a huge planet.”  
“We can start where we landed the first time, can’t we?” Gamora asked.  
“It’s a start. But what are we going to do, knock on every door in town until we find her?” Drax countered.  
“I am Groot.” Groot added.  
“He’s right.” Rocket nodded. “Those people wouldn’t take too kindly to the lot of us walking up and down their streets.”  
“That’s where you come in, Peter.” Yondu pointed. “You’re the only one who can blend in and you’re the only one who even has a clue where to start.” Yondu remembered the note and pulled it out of his desk. “Oh yeah, and Gwen gave me this before they took her. I was hoping you could figure out what it meant.” He handed it to Peter.  
“What is this? 8956 West Kensingt-“ Peter broke off and his eyes lit up. He exploded into excited laughter.  
“What is it?” Yondu asked, eagerly. “You can read it?”  
“Ah Gwen, you are a fuckin’ genius. Yeah I can read it.” Peter said with a grin. “It’s an address. She gave us exactly where to find her.”  
Yondu let out a heavy sigh of relief. “Now all we gotta do is figure out how to get back in without attracting the attention of the military.”  
Kraglin, who had been quiet the whole conversation, smirked and spoke up, “I think I’ve got an idea.”  
_____________________________________________  
Gwen’s mother had made her some tea, and called everyone in the family to let them know she was home and she was safe. Gwen’s father, Jacob, refused to let her out of his sight; he still couldn’t believe she was back.  
“Where on Earth have you been, Guinevere?” Her mother pleaded.  
Gwen scoffed at the irony of her mother’s statement. “You really wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”  
“Did someone hurt you? Were you kidnapped? Please, you have to let us in!” She begged.  
Gwen huffed. “Fine,” she decided to go for broke, “I took off on a space ship with a bunch of aliens and one other Terran. I fell in love with a Captain, lived on his ship, became a space pirate, killed a Kree Soldier and was sent back here as punishment for almost starting an intergalactic war.”  
Her mother stared at her, dumbfounded.  
“Oh yeah,” Gwen held up her left hand, “And I got married.” She put her hand back down and went back to sipping her tea.  
Marianna turned to look up at Jacob blankly. 

Gwen’s sister Julienne and her husband, Dylan, rushed over the next morning with her eight year old son, Robbie. Gwen was glad to see them, but the reunion was bitter sweet. She used to wish that the next time she saw her sister she would be introducing her to Yondu. Gwen laid on the couch most of the day, staring at the TV watching Star Trek. She could hear her family in the background talking about her. She heard words like kidnapping, cult, brainwashed, Stockholm syndrome, doctors and “get her help”. She also heard her sister defending her, “I don’t know, mom. I saw a talking raccoon when she called me. I don’t know how you’d explain that.” Gwen’s mother blew her off, assuming she must have been imagining it.  
“That was Rocket.” Gwen mumbled through her blankets.  
“What’s that?” Her mother encouraged.  
Gwen lifted her face out of the covers, “The talking raccoon was Rocket. He’s the engineer on Peter’s ship.”  
She heard more mumbling from her mother… something about delusions.  
Gwen huffed and rolled her eyes as she sat up and threw the covers off. “I am not delusional! I was not kidnapped, I did not join a cult, I have not been brainwashed and I do not have Stockholm syndrome! And I’m sick and tired of this bull shit!” Gwen picked up a pencil from the coffee table and threw it across the room. It stuck in the corkboard on the opposite wall, right through a picture of herself when she was a teenager. She got it right between the eyes. Gwen stormed off into her old bedroom.  
“Hmm…” Jacob mumbled into his coffee, “wonder if her kidnapper taught her that one.” he said sarcastically.  
“Are you seriously believing this stuff that’s coming out of her mouth?” Marianna asked annoyed.  
“I don’t know what to believe, but I’m willing to at least listen to her.” Jacob argued.  
Jules walked down the hallway and found her sister talking to her son. She was telling him all about her friends and their grand adventures.  
“So Peter’s a human, like us?” Robbie asked eagerly.  
“Yup, but in space they call us Terrans. They don’t call this Earth, they call it Terra.”  
“And your husband, he’s an alien?”  
“They don’t like to be called aliens. But yeah, he’s a Centaurian. He’s all blue, and he has a metal red fin on top of his head that can make an arrow fly around wherever he wants, just by thinking about it.”  
“Wow! That is so cool!” Robbie laughed.  
“I know, right?!” Gwen beamed. She loved talking about her Yondu. But it was all bitter sweet. Tears started streaming down her cheeks.  
“You miss him, huh, Aunt Gwen?” Robbie said, leaning into Gwen.  
“Yeah, yeah I do, Robbie.”  
___________________________________  
Kraglin, wearing plain Xandarian clothes, was sitting at a bar in the heart of the city. He had been watching a Nova Corps officer filling his stomach with beer after a long work day, waiting for the right opportunity to approach him. When the man had downed two beers and asked for a third, Kraglin jumped in. “Put it on my tab, Nala, and make that two.” He walked over and sat down next to the officer. “Name’s Kravin. Just wanted to shake your hand and thank you guys for all your hard work, keepin us Xandarian’s safe.”  
The officer beamed with pride, “Thanks, but I’m just doin my job.”  
“Ah, but it’s a job you didn’t have to take.” Kraglin added.  
“I guess that’s true.” The officer smiled and the two men drank together.  
“So, I heard a war almost broke out a couple weeks ago? That true?” Kraglin tried to sneak the topic into the conversation.  
The officer scoffed and shook his head, “Yeah man. It was so stupid. The Kree threw a huge hissy fit cause some Terran girl killed one of their soldiers after the dope tried to attack her. Guess nobody told him not to mess with one of Udonta’s girls.” The soldier laughed and Kraglin pretended to laugh with him, though he didn’t exactly find the situation funny.  
“A Terran? No shit? So, uh, what happened to her?” Kraglin took another drink, trying not to show too much interest in the answer.  
“Ah,” The man waved his hand away “We had to send her home. It was either that, or The Kree wanted us to hand her over to them.” The man scoffed again. “Like that was gonna happen.”  
“Really? But I thought Terra was off limits?” Kraglin continued to act disinterested.  
“Oh it is. But…” the soldier looked around and then leaned in to whisper to Kraglin “We’ve got our tricks.” He put his finger to his lips to convey that it was a secret.  
Kraglin waved him off “Nah, you’re bullshitting me now. Nobody can get into Terra without being seen.”  
“No it’s true!” The soldier looked around again and then whispered to Kraglin. “One word… scrambler.” He put his finger to his mouth again and laughed.  
Kraglin grinned widely and laughed along with him. They touched their beer bottles together and then finished their drinks. 

Kraglin paid his tab, and paid for another drink for the very talkative soldier and then left. He ran back to his ship and hailed The Eclector.  
Yondu was eager to hear back from Kraglin. “What’d you find out?”  
Kraglin was slightly out of breath but he got his message through. “Tell Rocket they’re using a scrambler.”  
“A scrambler?” Yondu repeated, dumbfounded, “Well why the hell didn’t we think of that?”  
Yondu got on the com and relayed the message to Rocket, “They’re using a damn scrambler. Can you make one o’ them?”  
Rocket grinned, showing his sharp teeth, “Oh yeah. I think we can do something with that.”


	26. With A Little Help From My Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I frustratingly rewrote the previous chapter. So if this one doesn't make sense, might want to go back and reread it. This is the end. Hope you like it.

Weeks had passed since Gwen had been unceremoniously kicked out of space. Gwen’s mother was no more convinced of her sanity than she was the first night. She had taken her to a multitude of specialists, and given handfuls of pills to take to ‘cure’ her, but since Gwen was neither a threat to herself or others, they could not force her to take them, nor could they hospitalize her. Marianna was growing more frustrated with Gwen’s apathetic attitude every day. One morning, Gwen woke up and could not find her Ravager uniform.

“Mom, where’s my uniform?” She demanded.

“What uniform?” Her mother was confused.

“The brown and red one. The outfit I was wearing when I came home! Where is it?” Gwen was getting angry.

“Oh, that thing.” Her mother huffed “I threw it out. I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.”

“You threw it out?! How could you?!” Gwen began to fume. “You’re taking away everything I have left! What, are you gonna do next? Cut off my finger to take my ring?!”

“If I could, I would! You need to get out of this house, Gwen! You need to go out and have fun. Go see your friends, meet new people, you can’t mope in this house every day!” She snapped back.

Gwen’s face turned as red as Yondu’s fin. “You don’t get it! I had a life! I was happy! I was in love! It all got ripped away from me in a matter of moments and you want me to act like none of it ever happened?! What would you do if the government came in right now and took you away from Dad? How do you think you’d feel? Would you just say ‘oh well, life goes on, I think I’ll go find someone new’?!”

“Guinevere, I don’t know how to deal with this! I’m doing the best I can!”

“How about you stop doing what you think is best, and start listening to what I think is best?!” Gwen stormed out of the house and ran across the park. She ran around the back, up the hill and into the clearing. She was so angry, she made record time. She ran into the middle of the field, looked up to the sky and screamed. She fell to the ground on her back and laid there, staring up at the sky.

______________________________

Yondu was starting to get short with everyone on the ship. It was taking far too long to get back to Terra. Between the stop to meet with Peter and the stop on Xandar, Yondu was starting to feel like Gwen might think he had given up on her. He was determined to make it as quickly as possible. Sitting at the cockpit, fiddling with one of his figurines, he had just snapped at his first mate for chewing his snacks too loudly.

“We’re moving as fast as we can, Yondu.” Peter reassured him as if he could read his mind.

“Not fast enough.” Yondu grumbled.

“This isn’t a Nova Corps ship. We can’t move as fast as they can. Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon.” Peter walked over and rested his hand on Yondu’s shoulder. Yondu turned and gave him the stink eye.

“And then what happens, huh? What happens when Nova Corps finds out we brought her back?”

“I doubt they’ll care. The issue with The Kree is over. We’re off their radar. They’d probably just tell us to lay low and stay away from Kree territory… which we pretty much do anyway.”

Yondu huffed. Peter was too calm as far as Yondu was concerned. Why wasn’t he just as outraged? Yondu stood up and stubbornly walked off to his room.

 

Yondu looked around for something to take his aggression out on. He picked up one of the chairs and roared as he threw it to the ground, smashing it into pieces. He wanted to be angry at Gwen. Angry for being too naïve and too trusting that Nova Prime would go easy on her. Angry that she chose not to run when they had the chance. But he couldn’t. The fact that she was so optimistic and brave was what he loved about her. She cared so much about the people on Xandar, people she had never even met, that she gave up her happiness for their safety. Damn her.

 

Yondu kicked the broken chair away and went to sit down on the bed. He picked up her cell phone from the night stand; the battery had long since died. But he could still see, in his mind, the picture of Gwen and her mother smiling happily. He wondered if she was happy now, back with her family. Maybe he shouldn’t go get her. Maybe he was just being selfish. But then he remembered something she had once said to him. _“But seeing how it all turned out, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have done it all again. I made my choice, Yondu. And I’m happy with it.”_

________________________________

 

It was Christmas night. It had been just over a month since Gwen’s return. She still refused to socialize or get a job. She still wore the ring Yondu gave her, and she still missed her husband and her home. Her mother had eventually given up on ‘saving’ her and let her mourn the life she once loved. The family had gotten together for dinner and were now sitting in the living room watching It’s A Wonderful Life and eating popcorn. Gwen was sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, wearing her usual sweats and t-shirt. She refused to go buy new clothes, especially after her mother had thrown out her uniform. It was a rebellion of sorts.

 

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. Everyone looked around at each other.

“Who could that be?” Jacob asked.

Gwen’s face lit up. She literally jumped over the couch and ran to the door. She opened it quickly and was greeted with a widely smiling, tall, red-headed man. “Merry Christmas!” He shouted excitedly.

“Peter!” Gwen squealed and jumped into his arms.

“Peter?” Marianna jumped up and everyone ran to the door.

Peter smiled and waved “Hey everyone! Is this your family, Gwen?”

Robbie beamed “You’re Peter Quill! I mean, Star Lord!”

Peter winked at Robbie, “That’s right!”

Gwen’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. “Is he here?!” she asked anxiously.

“Is who here?” Marianna interrupted, attempting to sneak into the conversation.

Peter grinned, “He’s waiting for you in the park.”

 

Gwen practically pushed Peter out of the way and ran towards the park, still barefoot. Peter followed.

“Gwen!” Her mother yelled. When Gwen didn’t stop Marianna ran after her, which set off a chain reaction of family members following suit. 

Gwen ran through the park, looking for any sign of him. She finally found a group of shadowy figures standing near a lamp post about a hundred yards into the park. “Yondu!” She yelled out. One of the figures turned around and quickly walked towards her. And then she saw him. As he walked under a lamppost she saw Yondu’s signature jacket and his blue face, caught somewhere between determination and relief. Gwen’s heart leapt again and she ran faster.

“Guinevere!” She could hear her mother yelling for her, yet she was undeterred. She was focused only on closing the distance between herself and her husband.

Gwen jumped into Yondu’s waiting arms. He held her tight and let out a heavy sigh. “Damn I’ve missed you.” He pulled her away and smoothed her hair out of her face. “Don’t you go runnin off on me like that again, you hear me?” He teased her sharply.

Gwen laughed with tears in her eyes. “I won’t. I promise, I’ll never leave you again.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. She breathed in his scent, the smell that she had been longing for, machine oil and cologne.

It was only then that Gwen noticed the rest of Peter’s crew was with them. They walked up behind Yondu, and she ran to give Gamora and Drax and everyone else quick hugs. They all went to stand underneath a lamp post and waited for Peter and Gwen’s family to meet them.

Marianna gasped at she took in the unlikely group of strange people standing with her daughter. “Guinevere Grace what is all this?”

Gwen wrapped herself around Yondu as he held her close. “The truth, Mom. What I’ve been trying to tell you the whole time. This is my husband, Captain Yondu Udonta.” She looked up at him adoringly. She turned to address the rest of the crew, “And this is-“

“That’s Gamora!” Robbie interrupted, pointing at Gamora. “And you’re Drax! And you’re Groot! And you’re Rocket!”

Rocket pointed at little Robbie with a raised eyebrow “And who the hell is this kid?”

Robbie jumped up and down excitedly. “This is so awesome!” Gwen, Peter and Gamora all laughed at Robbie.

Jules folded her arms and nudged her mother. “I think you have something to say to Gwen.”

Marianna held her hands to her mouth and shook her head. “Gwen, I am so sorry I didn’t believe you.”

Gwen nodded and gave her mother a smile. “It’s okay. You know now. I just hope you learn to give people more credit in the future.”

Yondu kissed Gwen’s forehead, “You ready to get back to the stars?”

Gwen smiled up at him, “Hell yeah I am.”

“What?” Marianna asked, shocked. “But you just got home! You want to leave again already?”

Gwen walked over and hugged her mother. “This isn’t my home anymore. It hasn’t been for a long time.”

Tears started to stream down Marianna’s face. “Will I ever see you again?”

“Well-“ Gwen was about to say she wasn’t sure, but Rocket interrupted her “Actually, now that we know how to get in undetected, future visits might not necessarily be out of the question.”

“How’d you guys figure that out?” Gwen asked curiously.

Yondu interrupted the conversation. “How ‘bout we do all the catching up on the ship. Right now, let’s just get you home, okay?” Yondu was itching to get off the rock with Gwen as quickly as possible.

As Gwen gave everyone hugs goodbye, she caught Robbie trying to convince Peter to let him come with them. “No!” Both Gwen and Jules shouted in stereo. Peter shrugged his shoulders “Maybe when you’re a bit older.” He winked at Robbie.

 

Yondu held tight to Gwen’s hand as they walked back behind the park, up the hill and into the clearing. He didn’t want to risk being separated from her before they were both safely back on The Milano. Gwen didn’t mind one bit. As soon as they were back on the ship, Yondu lead Gwen to a chair and strapped her into the five-point harness. Gwen chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Yondu smirked at her.

“The last time we did this, you weren’t so gentle. And I was sure you were going to kill me.” Gwen smiled.

“The last time we did this, I was stupid.” Yondu scoffed. He looked her in the eyes and grew serious. “And I would never, ever, want anything to happen to you.” He kissed Gwen softly and then strapped himself into the seat next to her.

 

Gwen and her new family took off into the night’s sky as her Terran family watched, stunned and amazed, from the park.


End file.
